Top Definitions
Synonyms
Quiz
Related Content
Examples
British
Scientific
Cultural
Idioms And Phrases

class

[ klas, klahs ]

/ klæs, klɑs /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for class on Thesaurus.com

noun

a number of persons or things regarded as forming a group by reason of common attributes, characteristics, qualities, or traits; kind; sort: a class of objects used in daily living.

a group of students meeting regularly to study a subject under the guidance of a teacher: The class had arrived on time for the lecture.

the period during which a group of students meets for instruction.

a meeting of a group of students for instruction.

a number of pupils in a school, or of students in a college, pursuing the same studies, ranked together, or graduated in the same year: She graduated from Ohio State, class of '72.

a social stratum sharing basic economic, political, or cultural characteristics, and having the same social position: Artisans form a distinct class in some societies.

the system of dividing society; caste.

social rank, especially high rank.

the members of a given group in society, regarded as a single entity.

any division of persons or things according to rank or grade: Hotels were listed by class, with the most luxurious ones listed first.

excellence; exceptional merit: She's a good performer, but she lacks class.

Hinduism. any of the four social divisions, the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shudra, of Hindu society; varna.Compare caste (def. 2).

Informal. elegance, grace, or dignity, as in dress and behavior: He may be a slob, but his brother has real class.

any of several grades of accommodations available on ships, airplanes, and the like: We bought tickets for first class.

Informal. the best or among the best of its kind: This new plane is the class of the wide-bodied airliners.

Biology. the usual major subdivision of a phylum or division in the classification of organisms, usually consisting of several orders.

British University. any of three groups into which candidates for honors degrees are divided according to merit on the basis of final examinations.

drafted or conscripted soldiers, or persons available for draft or conscription, all of whom were born in the same year.

Grammar. form class.

Ecclesiastical. classis.

(in early Methodism) one of several small companies, each composed of about 12 members under a leader, into which each society or congregation was divided.

Statistics. a group of measurements that fall within a specified interval.

Mathematics. a set; a collection.

the classes, the higher ranks of society, as distinguished from the masses.

adjective

Informal. of high quality, integrity, status, or style: class players on a mediocre team.

verb (used with object)

to place or arrange in a class; classify: to class justice with wisdom.

verb (used without object)

to take or have a place in a particular class: those who class as believers.

Verb Phrases

class up, Informal. to improve the quality, tone, or status of; add elegance, dignity, style, etc., to: The new carpet and curtains really class up this room.

OTHER WORDS FOR class

27 group, categorize, type, rank, rate.

See synonyms for class on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR CLASS

What's The Funniest (Or Most Embarrassing) Thing You've Said During Class?

School may not physically be in session right now, but you can still say funny (and really embarrassing) things in a Zoom class too! Watch these people's most embarrassing classroom moments. Can you relate?

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of class

First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier classis, plural classes, from Latin: “class, division, fleet, army”; singular class back formation from plural

grammar notes for class

See collective noun.

OTHER WORDS FROM class

class·a·ble, adjectiveclasser, nounmis·class, verbre·class, verb (used with object)

un·class·a·ble, adjectiveun·classed, adjectivewell-classed, adjective

Words nearby class

clasp, clasper, claspers, clasping, clasp knife, class, class-A amplifier, class act, class action, class action law suit, class A drug

Other definitions for class (2 of 2)

class.

abbreviation

classic.

classical.

classification.

classified.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use class in a sentence

A Senate report published Wednesday claimed that policy delayed 7 percent of the country’s first-class mail in the five weeks after it took effect.
Federal judge issues temporary injunction against USPS operational changes amid concerns about mail slowdowns|Elise Viebeck, Jacob Bogage|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
His diction, that booming voice, his intensity, are in a class by themselves.
How Laurence Fishburne Gave Voice To ‘The Autobiography Of Malcolm X’|Joi-Marie McKenzie|September 17, 2020|Essence.com
The researchers found that there was no difference in outcomes between the three kinds of classes.
Why hasn’t digital learning lived up to its promise?|Walter Thompson|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
We could go to classes remotely from our homes or from our dorm rooms.
Even the most cautious schools are seeing outbreaks|Sy Mukherjee|September 17, 2020|Fortune

With only eight students left, leadership at Lincoln High decided to cancel the class after the first quarter, as Scott Lewis reports in a new story on Williams’ ordeal.
Morning Report: Lincoln Abruptly Canceled AP Class|Voice of San Diego|September 17, 2020|Voice of San Diego
I was drawn to The Class for different reasons—chiefly, the pipe dream of achieving a tighter and tauter backside.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Stephanie Giorgio, a classical musician, credits The Class for helping her cope with anxiety, focus, fear, and self-doubt.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the last year, her fusion exercise class has attracted a cult following and become de rigueur among the celebrity set.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The same picture emerges from middle class men in the U.S., Canada, and the Nordic countries.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
More to the point, Huckabee has a natural appeal to a party that has come to represent the bulk of working class white voters.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Botanists have enumerated between forty and fifty varieties of the tobacco plant who class them all among the narcotic poisons.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Our class has swelled to about a dozen persons now, and a good many others come and play to him once or twice and then go.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
It has only been a rare and exceptional class hitherto that has gone on learning throughout life.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
But we must not class in this unclean category Lord Spunyarn and his friend Haggard, who were both playing at the big table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The universal ignorance of the working class broke down the aspiring force of genius.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock

British Dictionary definitions for class

class

/ (klɑːs) /

noun

a collection or division of people or things sharing a common characteristic, attribute, quality, or property

a group of persons sharing a similar social position and certain economic, political, and cultural characteristics

(in Marxist theory) a group of persons sharing the same relationship to the means of production

the pattern of divisions that exist within a society on the basis of rank, economic status, etc
(as modifier)the class struggle; class distinctions

a group of pupils or students who are taught and study together
a meeting of a group of students for tuition

mainly US a group of students who graduated in a specified yearthe class of '53

(in combination and as modifier) British a grade of attainment in a university honours degreesecond-class honours

one of several standards of accommodation in public transportSee also first class, second class, third class

informal excellence or elegance, esp in dress, design, or behaviourthat girl's got class
(as modifier)a class act

outstanding speed and stamina in a racehorse
(as modifier)the class horse in the race

biology any of the taxonomic groups into which a phylum is divided and which contains one or more orders. Amphibia, Reptilia, and Mammalia are three classes of phylum Chordata

maths logic

another name for set 2 (def. 3)
proper class a class which cannot itself be a member of other classes

in a class of its own or in a class by oneself unequalled; unparalleled

verb

to have or assign a place within a group, grade, or class

Derived forms of class

classable, adjectiveclasser, noun

Word Origin for class

C17: from Latin classis class, rank, fleet; related to Latin calāre to summon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for class

class

[ klăs ]

A taxonomic category of organisms ranking above an order and below a phylum or division. In modern taxonomic schemes, the names of classes end in -phyceae for the various groups of algae, -mycetes for fungi, and -opsida for plants (as in Liliopsida, the class of plants also termed monocotyledons). The names of classes belonging to phyla of the animal kingdom, however, are formed in various ways, as Osteichthyes the bony fishes, Aves, the birds, and Mammalia, the mammals, all of which are classes belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata (the vertebrates) in the phylum Chordata. See Table at taxonomy.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for class (1 of 2)

class

A group of people sharing the same social, economic, or occupational status. The term class usually implies a social and economic hierarchy, in which those of higher class standing have greater status, privilege, prestige, and authority. Western societies have traditionally been divided into three classes: the upper or leisure class, the middle class (bourgeoisie), and the lower or working class. For Marxists, the significant classes are the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (see also proletariat).

Cultural definitions for class (2 of 2)

class

In biology, the classification beneath a phylum and above an order. (See Linnean classification.)

notes for class

Mammals, reptiles, and insects are classes.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with class

class

see cut class.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.