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.

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adjective

1. proletarian.

prole British  

/ prəʊl /

noun

1. derogatory  short for proletarian

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Etymology

Origin of prole

First recorded in 1885–90; shortened form of proletariat

Example Sentences

The proles languishing on the tarmac for hours can take heart—your suffering is an assist to the Democratic brand.

From The Wall Street Journal

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