above one's paygrade

prepositional phrase

Not suitable for one in one's current rank in an organization; suitable for someone more senior, implying that one is not competent enough or not paid well enough to deal with the problem.

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Not suitable for one in one's current rank in an organization; suitable for someone more senior, implying that one is not competent enough or not paid well enough to deal with the problem.

    Will there ever be another Parks and Rec reunion? wryape I doubt it, but that’s above my pay grade.

    2026 April 23, Rich Pelley, quoting Adam Scott, “Severance star Adam Scott: ‘There’s nothing wrong with being told that you resemble Tom Cruise’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    1 more example

    I don't know how you explain to someone that "Nigger Toes" is offensive. It's above my paygrade. On some level, I feel like it's explaining basic manners.

    2011 October 4, Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Sprawling Chasm”, in The Atlantic

Translations

Dutch boven zijn niveau
  • boven zijn niveaunot suitable for one's rank
Cite this entry
APA

above one's paygrade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/above%20one's%20paygrade

MLA

“above one's paygrade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/above%20one's%20paygrade. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “above one's paygrade,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/above%20one's%20paygrade.

Source: above one's paygrade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.