underclass

American  

[uhn-der-klas, -klahs] / ˈʌn dərˌklæs, -ˌklɑs /

noun

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

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underclass British  

/ ˈʌndəˌklɑːs /

noun

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

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Etymology

Origin of underclass

First recorded in 1915–20; under- + class

Example Sentences

To its adherents, Beckett’s had become a downtown sanctuary for the city’s creative underclass.

From New York Times

"Creed III" features an underclass story and there is a Dickensian element to it.

From Salon

That created a perpetual underclass of agricultural laborers with limited seafaring experience, Hafstein said.

From Washington Post

But after decades of discrimination, many of their descendants remain locked in a seemingly permanent underclass.

From Washington Post

“It’s not trying to give excuses, it’s not trying to contextualize the underclass, it’s saying, ‘This is what it is.’”

From New York Times