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• lower class
  lower class

  noun

  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.
• lower-class
  lower-class

  adjective

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

lower class

¹ American  

[loh-er] / ˈloʊ ər /

noun

• lower classes
  plural

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.

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lower-class ² American  

[loh-er-klas, -klahs] / ˈloʊ ərˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /

adjective

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

   lower-class values.

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lower class British  

noun

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

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adjective

1. of or relating to the lower class

2. inferior or vulgar

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lower classes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lower class¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Origin of lower-class²

First recorded in 1890–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lower class lower-class

"Do you want to make savings from falling pupil numbers, or do you want to maintain spending the way it is, and have lower class sizes?"

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

“Even if a government job is lower class, it is still prestigious in Bangladesh,” Amin said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

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 ● May 26, 2024

But, as different as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Longbourn” are, they agree in finding little room for laughter and romance in stories of the lower class.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2023

What is key to America’s understanding of class is the persistent belief—despite all evidence to the contrary—that anyone, with the proper discipline and drive, can move from a lower class to a higher class.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Based on the beloved novels of Elena Ferrante, “My Brilliant Friend” tells the story of two pals growing up in a lower-class neighborhood in post-World War II Naples.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

They are particularly alarmed about certain groups possibly ending up paying more for loans than their peers — a daunting prospect today given the cost of living crisis among the nation’s middle- and lower-class.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 17, 2025

As a result of this, it has both suffered being characterized as a lower-class indulgence, while also being celebrated for its flavor and pop culture ubiquity.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2024

The empire was organized around several urbanized centers with monumental architecture including grand royal palaces, as well as lower-class homes made from stone or mud with thatched roofs.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

King may have embraced direct action, but in the early 1960s he was still very much the product of his black middle-class upbringing, and he would occasionally lash out against stereotyped lower-class behaviors.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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Related Words

• proletariat
• working class

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