plebe

[ pleeb ]
See synonyms for plebe on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also pleb. (at the U.S. Military and Naval academies) a member of the freshman class.

  2. Obsolete. plebeian (def. 4).

Origin of plebe

1
First recorded in 1605–15; short for plebeian

Words Nearby plebe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use plebe in a sentence

  • He did well during his plebe year but not spectacularly, earning a class rank of 161st out of more than 800 classmates.

    The Making of General Petraeus | David Cloud, Greg Jaffe | June 24, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • He was glad that he had learned, before the end of his plebe year at West Point, to speak without moving his lips.

    Dearest | Henry Beam Piper
  • Hodge remembered that Gage had tried to injure Frank in the past, and the dark-eyed plebe was ready to blaze forth in an instant.

    Frank Merriwell's Chums | Burt L. Standish
  • This hasty and guarded conversation was carried on between two plebe cadets who had met in a corridor of the academy "cockloft."

    Frank Merriwell's Chums | Burt L. Standish
  • "You may not want to box, but you can down Frank Merriwell just the same," declared the big plebe.

    Frank Merriwell's Chums | Burt L. Standish
  • He saw that Davis did not mean to fight, and he made a resolve to save the plebe if possible by taking up his quarrel.

    Frank Merriwell's Chums | Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for plebe

plebe

/ (pliːb) /


noun
  1. informal a member of the lowest class at the US Naval Academy or Military Academy; freshman

Origin of plebe

1
C19: shortened from plebeian

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