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

And her transition to her next comedy hit To the Manor Born, playing true-blue aristocrat Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, felt seamless.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Depicting the singer as a Baroque aristocrat clad in contemporary designer fashion, the portrait helped propel González onto an international stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

A small part of the problem is that the dividend aristocrat index is equal-weighted, but it has done terribly even compared with the equal-weighted S&P, which is itself lagging behind the normal, market-value-weighted index.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

This spring and summer, the National Archives is mounting a special exhibition here about the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who played a key role in the American Revolution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

As a man, Malcolm X had the physical bearing and the inner self- confidence of a bom aristocrat.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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

Jewish by birth, Disraeli was a departure from the aristocrats and country gentlemen whose party he refashioned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 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

Meghan Kobza’s “The Masquerade” unmasks the festivities of 18th-century London, where the commercial “middling sort” acquired the numbers and money to emulate the private entertainments of kings and aristocrats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Probability theory was invented to help rich aristocrats win more money with their gambling.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• noble