cultural capital

American

[kuhl-cher-uhl kap-i-tl] / ˈkʌl tʃər əl ˈkæp ɪ tl /

noun

Sociology. the skills, education, norms, and behaviors acquired by members of a social group that can give them economic and other advantages.

The accumulation of cultural capital is one route to upward mobility.

Etymology

Origin of cultural capital

First recorded in 1975–80

Compare meaning

How does cultural-capital compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

social capital vs. cultural capital

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a clever piece of installation design, shelves built around the screen bring the painting’s illusions to life, displaying real bronzes, porcelains, texts and scholarly objects from Lee’s collection—modern curation fulfilling classical cultural capital.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

In the bustling streets of the ancient Mughal city of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, 49-year-old shopkeeper Aftab Ahmed is looking for solar panels to install at his home.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The mayor of London said the move would help to cement London as the "cultural capital of the world, with the best nightlife anywhere".

From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025

Because even the robber barons were not that bad; at least they endowed some libraries and foundations and fellowships and had some idea of wanting to pretend to some sort of cultural capital.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025

The Exposition Universelle in 1878 is a celebration of Paris’s reemergence as a cultural capital after a time preoccupied with war and recovery.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023