lower class

¹

[ loh-er ]

noun

1. a class of people below the middle class, having the lowest social rank or standing due to low income, lack of skills or education, and the like.
2. (broadly) working class.

lower-class

²

[ loh-er-klas, -klahs ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the lower class:

   lower-class values.

lower class

noun

1. the social stratum having the lowest position in the social hierarchy Compare middle class upper class working class

adjective

1. of or relating to the lower class
2. inferior or vulgar

Word History and Origins

Origin of lower class¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Origin of lower class²

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

"Before then, Americans were typically more likely to self-identify as members of the middle or upper-middle class and less likely to say they belonged to the working or lower class."

From Salon

The event failed so drastically in its understanding of food culture that it essentially mocked the lower class.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, she and two of her sisters each moved to Mexico City to do one of the few jobs available to them as lower class women: domestic work.

From Seattle Times

Trump made one potentially significant policy statement during that 87-minute speech: He said he favors an across-the-board tax cut — “middle class, upper class, lower class, business class.”

From Los Angeles Times

JAL’s conditions state that we would receive “the difference between the normal fare amount of original class of service and for the normal fare of lower class of service.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• proletariat
• working class