middle-class

[ mid-l-klas, -klahs ]
/ ˈmɪd lˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR middle-class ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of the middle class; bourgeois: middle-class taste; middle-class morality.

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Origin of middle-class

First recorded in 1890–95

OTHER WORDS FROM middle-class

mid·dle-class·ness, noun

Words nearby middle-class

middle years, middle youth, middle-age spread, middle-aged, middle-born, middle-class, middle-distance, middle-income, middle-level, middle-of-the-road, middle-sized

Definition for middle-class (2 of 2)

middle class

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.

Origin of middle class

First recorded in 1760–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to middle-class

bourgeois, ordinary

Example sentences from the Web for middle-class

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.