noun
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short for plebeian
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informal a common vulgar person
Usage
What else does pleb mean? A pleb, short for plebeian, is a person who is considered too ordinary or a thing deemed commonplace (e.g., basic and normie).
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pleb
1850–55, short for plebeian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He has admitted swearing during the original incident but has always denied the allegation by the officer present, PC Toby Rowland, that he used the word "pleb".
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2014
But he also maintained: "I think most people who know me know I would not use words like pleb or moron in describing anyone."
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2013
Mr Mitchell resigned in October after allegedly calling a Downing Street policeman a "pleb", which he denies.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2013
How dare some nobody pleb have the temerity to criticise YOU.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 8, 2012
I know the maid; a blameless child of one Virginius, a soldier and a pleb.
From Virginia, A Tragedy And Other Poems by Gilmore, Marion Forster
I’m continually assaulted by images of the Kardashians, the ultimate hot-mom clan, who’ve set the bar for the rest of us plebs, showing off their sculpted figures and eerily frozen faces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
Reader Tyler Hogan responded with a really sharp comment, which he gave me permission to share here: This goes further than “managerial class wants to remind plebs who’s in power.”
From The Verge ● Oct. 1, 2020
The rest of us plebs could just go rot at lesser colleges after one B ruined plenty of T1 school dreams.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2018
We lowly plebs got our first glimpse of Chicago West, the illogically named third child of Kim and Kanye, born only four weeks ago, and a warning to the uninitiated.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2018
“She’s my director. I’m gonna have to start making appointments for you plebs to talk to her.”
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
