proletariat

[ proh-li-tair-ee-uht ]

noun

1. Usually the proletariat. in Marxist theory, the class made up of workers, especially industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to those who do in order to survive:

   The call of the proletariat is to overthrow the capitalist mode of production and finally abolish the whole class structure.

   A dictatorship of the proletariat is the first stage of the revolution.

2. Usually the proletariat. the class made up of wage earners, especially unskilled or semiskilled workers who earn their living by manual labor, often dependent on daily or casual employment and typically having low levels of education and disposable income; the working class.
3. the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property, especially in ancient Rome.

proletariat

/ ˌprəʊlɪˈtɛərɪət /

noun

1. all wage-earners collectively
2. the lower or working class
3. (in Marxist theory) the class of wage-earners, esp industrial workers, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labour
4. (in ancient Rome) the lowest class of citizens, who had no property

proletariat

¹

1. A term often applied to industrial workers, particularly by followers of Karl Marx (see also Marx ).

proletariat

²

1. In Marxism, the industrial working class , people without property.

Other Words From

• pro·le·tar·i·an adjective noun
• non·pro·le·tar·i·at noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of proletariat¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from French prolétariat; equivalent to proletary + -ate ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of proletariat¹

C19: via French from Latin prōlētārius proletarian

Example Sentences

Fiscal support from the proletariat is great in politics; the last president to marshal it like Trump was Barack Obama.

From Seattle Times

“I consider myself politically proletariat,” he told The New York Times in 2015.

From New York Times

What distinguishes “A Slight Ache” from “The Room,” The Birthday Party” and “The Dumb Waiter” — three plays from the same early period — is that it’s the bourgeoisie, not the proletariat, under mounting inexplicable pressure.

From Los Angeles Times

Labour unions were central to the Communist Party's proletariat beginnings but play only a marginal role in modern authoritarian China.

From Reuters

It’s an inverse work song, one that juxtaposes hard toil with a flow that cannot be interrupted by the frustrations of the proletariat.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• lower class