aristocrat

American  

[uh-ris-tuh-krat, ar-uh-stuh-] / əˈrɪs təˌkræt, ˈær ə stə- /

noun

• aristocrats
  plural

1. a member of an aristocracy, especially a noble.

   Synonyms:

   lord, peer, patrician

2. a person who has the tastes, manners, etc., characteristic of members of an aristocracy.

3. an advocate of an aristocratic form of government.

4. anything regarded as the best, most elegant, or most stylish of its kind.

   the aristocrat of California wines.

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aristocrat British  

/ ˈærɪstəˌkræt /

noun

1. a member of the aristocracy; a noble

2. a person who has the manners or qualities of a member of a privileged or superior class

3. a person who advocates aristocracy as a form of government

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• aristocrats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aristocrat

First recorded in 1770–80; from French aristocrate, back formation from aristocratie aristocracy

Explanation

An aristocrat is someone from the ruling class, usually those with nobility, money, or both. Although not an aristocrat yourself, you may have the odd viscount on your family tree if you go back far enough. The word aristocrat comes from the Greek word aristokratia, which itself comes from the root words aristos, meaning "best," and kratos, meaning "rule." So, the aristocracy was the ruling class of (supposedly) the best and noblest people, and an aristocrat was a member of that class. Today the word can also be applied to anyone with superior standing: Count Basie was an aristocrat in the jazz world.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aristocrat aristocrats

Born in 1757, the Marquis de La Fayette was a French aristocrat and a democratic revolution’s most unlikely hero.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Feature film Madfabulous - which tells the story of an eccentric 19th Century Welsh aristocrat - leads the way at this year's Bafta Cymru awards with six nominations.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

There were hair-metal bands that only had power ballads — Firehouse or some band with 17th century French aristocrat hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It is directed by Celyn Jones, who also directed Madfabulous about the Marquess of Anglesey, an eccentric 19th Century Welsh aristocrat.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

He had the air of an aristocrat and as he turned to gaze at Blackberry from his great brown eyes, Hazel began to see himself as a ragged wanderer, leader of a gang of vagabonds.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Among them was the academy’s annual summer party, themed after 18th-century Georgian pleasure gardens — Britain’s oil-lamp-lit outdoor venues where aristocrats, the newly rich and everyday revelers gathered to see, be seen and behave badly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The book is about colonisation and devastation, set against a backdrop of families left to die of starvation on estates owned by British aristocrats and landowners.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Last year was truly miserable: The S&P made almost 18%, including divis, while the dividend aristocrats made 7.2%—less than the total return on a 10-year Treasury.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Goldman Sachs’s recently retired chief equity strategist David J. Kostin tracked a basket of buyback aristocrats for the firm’s research clients.

From Barron's ● May 7, 2026

The sophists—of whom Gorgias was one of the first examples—were essentially just private tutors who trained Athenian aristocrats in philosophy and rhetoric.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• noble