prole

American  

[prohl, proh-lee] / proʊl, ˈproʊ li /

noun

Informal.

• proles
  plural

1. a member of the proletariat.

2. a person who performs routine tasks in a society.

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adjective

1. proletarian.

prole British  

/ prəʊl /

noun

1. derogatory short for proletarian

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• proles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of prole

First recorded in 1885–90; shortened form of proletariat

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Explanation

A prole is a worker, or a member of the blue-collar working class. Someone who's employed at a mill or a factory is considered a prole. Prole is short for proletariat, the collective name for workers that's especially common in (and was popularized by) Marxist economics. The word comes from the Latin proletarius, "citizen of the lowest class," used in ancient Rome to describe the group of people who didn't own property and whose only contribution to society was having children. It comes from proles, or "offspring."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prole proles

In language as crass and cadenced as gunfire, Mamet turned their man-eat-man philosophy, which some call capitalism, into brutal prole poetry: a poetry of predation, you might even say.

From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2022

In King Arthur, Law’s problem – Oh, will no one rid me of this cheeky prole? – is more interesting than Hunnam’s problem because Law is more interesting than Hunnam.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 8, 2017

He was not just Mr Cameron’s top prole; security types were impressed by his grasp of strategy.

From Economist ● Jun. 26, 2014

But Gleason was Hollywood’s idea of a lovably authentic fat American prole and for years, a decade at least, America bought into it.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2012

If there was anyone alive who could give you a truthful account of conditions in the early part of the century, it could only be a prole.

From "1984" by George Orwell

This level of self-regard in a writer and thinker as justifiably exalted as Smith may explain why our nation is turning on reading: aristocracies breed resentment among the proles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025

At that time he is merely the chairman of the Long Island State Park Commission, and his antagonists are not yet sympathetic proles but out-of-touch gentry.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

And so it's this remarkable moment, and Winston has thought over and over, if there's hope, it lies with the proles.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2021

No. Criticised for being out of touch with everyday life, Rogge says that in fact he and his IOC colleagues are out-and-out proles.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 24, 2012

The great majority of proles did not even have telescreens in their homes.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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