caste

American  

[kast, kahst] / kæst, kɑst /

noun

1. Sociology.

   1. an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.

   2. any rigid system of social distinctions.

2. Hinduism. any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next; jati.

3. any class or group of society sharing common cultural features.

   low caste; high caste.

4. social position conferred upon one by a caste system.

   to lose caste.

5. Entomology. one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by caste.

   a caste society; a caste system; a caste structure.

caste British  

/ kɑːst /

noun

1. 1. any of the four major hereditary classes, namely the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra into which Hindu society is divided See also Brahman Kshatriya Vaisya Sudra

   2. Also called: caste system.  the system or basis of such classes

   3. the social position or rank conferred by this system

2. any social class or system based on such distinctions as heredity, rank, wealth, profession, etc

3. the position conferred by such a system

4. entomol any of various types of specialized individual, such as the worker, in social insects (hive bees, ants, etc)

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caste Scientific  

/ kăst /

1. A specialized group carrying out a specific function within a colony of social insects. For example, in an ant colony, members of the caste of workers forage for food outside the colony or tend eggs and larvae, while the members of the caste of soldiers, often larger with stronger jaws, are responsible for defense of the colony.

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caste Cultural  

1. One of the four hereditary social divisions in Hinduism. Members of any one caste are restricted in their choice of occupation and may have only limited association with members of other castes.

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Discover More

Caste has come to mean a group of persons set apart by economic, social, religious, legal, or political criteria, such as occupation, status, religious denomination, legal privilege, skin color, or some other physical characteristic. Members of a caste tend to associate among themselves and rarely marry outside the caste. Castes are more socially separate from each other than are social class es.

During the height of segregation in the United States, African-Americans were sometimes loosely referred to as a caste.

Other Word Forms

• anticaste
  adjective
• casteism
  noun
• casteless
  adjective
• intercaste
  adjective
• subcaste
  noun

Etymology

Origin of caste

First recorded in 1545–55; from Portuguese casta “race, breed,” noun use of casta, feminine of casto, from Latin castus “pure, chaste ”

Explanation

The word caste was originally associated with India's traditional system of hereditary and rigidly stratified classes, but this noun can now be used to refer to any social group distinguished by shared characteristics, such as rank, economic wealth, or profession. The root of caste is the Latin castus, which means "chaste" or "pure, separated." The word arrived in English through the Portuguese casta, which means "race" or "lineage," and was first used in the 1700s in reference to Hinduism's system of social stratification. By the nineteenth century, though, this noun was used metaphorically to describe any type of group that resembled this, as in the example, "Some sought to abolish the privileges enjoyed by an elite caste of business and financial leaders."

Example Sentences

"Caste is, at its core, a hierarchy seeking impulse that defies measurement," he writes.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

A brief primer: Caste can be seen as an artificial hierarchy that helps determine status or respect.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2024

Caste is a hierarchical system of group stratification with roots tracing back to Hinduism as practiced in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2023

Caste discrimination outlawed: The California Senate voted 34 to 1 in favor of legislation outlawing caste discrimination in the state, The Associated Press reports.

From New York Times • May 12, 2023

“Or the Caste System. Constantly proposed, constantly rejected. There was something called democracy. As though men were more than physico-chemically equal.”

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Related Words

• stratum