Meanings
- idiomaticBeyond one's level of authority.
1971, Testimony before U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, Sir, I think that is a policy decision only the President can make. That is beyond my pay grade.
Synonyms: above one's pay grade
- idiomaticBeyond one's capability.
Figuring out how it would work logistically is above and beyond my pay grade and my brain power.
2007, Los Angeles Times
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseBeyond one's level of authority.
Origin
Possibly from the correspondence of the pay grade to the level of authority in the U.S. civil service and in the U.S. armed forces.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish over min lønramme
- over min lønrammebeyond the speaker's authority
Italian oltre le proprie competenze
- oltre le proprie competenzebeyond the speaker's authority
Cite this entry
beyond one's pay grade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beyond%20one's%20pay%20grade
“beyond one's pay grade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beyond%20one's%20pay%20grade. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beyond one's pay grade,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beyond%20one's%20pay%20grade.
Source: beyond one's pay grade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.