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middle class
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a class of people intermediate between the classes of higher and lower social rank or standing; the social, economic, cultural class, having approximately average status, income, education, tastes, and the like.
the class traditionally intermediate between the aristocratic class and the laboring class.
an intermediate class.
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Origin of middle class
First recorded in 1760–70
Words nearby middle class
Other definitions for middle class (2 of 2)
middle-class
[ mid-l-klas, -klahs ]
/ ˈmɪd lˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of the middle class; bourgeois: middle-class taste; middle-class morality.
Origin of middle-class
First recorded in 1890–95
OTHER WORDS FROM middle-class
middle-classness, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use middle class in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for middle class
middle class
noun
Also called: bourgeoisie a social stratum that is not clearly defined but is positioned between the lower and upper classes. It consists of businessmen, professional people, etc, along with their families, and is marked by bourgeois valuesCompare lower class, upper class, working class
adjective middle-class
of, relating to, or characteristic of the middle class
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for middle class
middle class
A social and economic class composed of those more prosperous than the poor, or lower class, and less wealthy than the upper class. Middle class is sometimes loosely used to refer to the bourgeoisie. In the United States and other industrial countries, the term is often applied to white-collar, as opposed to blue-collar, workers.
notes for middle class
Values commonly associated with the middle class include a desire for social respectability and material wealth and an emphasis on the family and education.
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.