underclass

[ uhn-der-klas, -klahs ]

noun

1. a social stratum consisting of impoverished persons with very low social status.

underclass

/ ˈʌndəˌklɑːs /

noun

1. a class beneath the usual social scale consisting of the most disadvantaged people, such as the unemployed in inner cities

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Word History and Origins

Origin of underclass¹

First recorded in 1915–20; under- + class

Example Sentences

I call it, uh, Digitally Invisible, how the internet is creating the new underclass.

From MIT Technology Review

Tremendous advances in solar power have made this shift possible, and an android underclass provides maintenance labor.

From MIT Technology Review

Reactions to both events are driven by ignorance, disregard, and dehumanization of an underclass of people of color.

From The Daily Beast

Dig down, and we know why our dark and twisted fantasies of a suffering, angry American underclass have finally come true.

From The Daily Beast

It was music from the underclass, the language of rent parties and cotton fields.

From The Daily Beast

Squaring the needs and aspirations of an ossifying underclass, however, is the more difficult lift.

From The Daily Beast

My family were no longer working class, but effectively underclass, living on benefits.

From The Daily Beast

The goal of building the middle class and shrinking the underclass is also why I believe that you should raise the minimum wage.

From Project Gutenberg

It is not large enough to accommodate all of the students, and the underclass men attend mass elsewhere.

From Project Gutenberg