a class of people below the middle class, having the lowest social rank or standing due to low income, lack of skills or education, and the like.
(broadly) working class.
of or relating to the lower class
inferior or vulgar
First recorded in 1765–75
First recorded in 1890–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Do you want to make savings from falling pupil numbers, or do you want to maintain spending the way it is, and have lower class sizes?"
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
With shaved head and visible tattoos, Iago is in a lower class than Lucas Iverson’s clean-cut Cassio, fueling Iago’s raging resentment of his rival, chosen by the general Othello to be his second in command.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
"Before then, Americans were typically more likely to self-identify as members of the middle or upper-middle class and less likely to say they belonged to the working or lower class."
From Salon • Nov. 2, 2024
Alberto Carvalho said the district is prepared to manage the transition without layoffs — and he also pledged improved student support through lower class sizes, additional counselors and increased mental health services.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2023
Very few respondents called themselves lower class or upper class—7 percent and 1 percent.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
