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prole

American  
[prohl, proh-lee] / proʊl, ˈproʊ li /

noun

Informal.
  1. a member of the proletariat.

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


adjective

  1. proletarian.

prole British  
/ prəʊl /

noun

  1. derogatory short for proletarian

"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

Etymology

Origin of prole

First recorded in 1885–90; shortened form of proletariat

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.

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

He points to Orwell’s line in “Nineteen Eighty-Four”: “If there is hope, it lies in the proles.”

From Los Angeles Times

In the Roman Empire, the games at the Circus Maximus were an amusement and a distraction, a token to the proles as a substitute for being able to exercise any political power.

From Salon

Last year gave us “The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe” with Eddie Marsan as an angry prole who chose to paddle away from society.

From New York Times

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