cultural capital

American  

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

noun

1. 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.

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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

Museum attendance in Moscow, which competes with Saint Petersburg as Russia's cultural capital, jumped 30 percent in 2025, according to deputy mayor Natalya Sergunina.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

“He knows L.A. — knows that it’s home to both a super, super diverse and beautiful immigrant community, but also home to tons of media, cultural capital, financial capital,” Rosmarin said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 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

Earlier this month, Welch released a memecoin called HAWK, the latest celebrity-sponsored cryptocurrency with absolutely no point except to help turn cultural capital into real capital.

From Slate • Dec. 20, 2024

They say he intends to remake the Austrian town of Linz into an empyrean city, the cultural capital of the world.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr