proletariat

American  

[proh-li-tair-ee-uht] / ˌproʊ lɪˈtɛər i ət /

noun

1. Usually the proletariat in Marxist theory, the class made up of workers, especially industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to those who do in order to survive.

   The call of the proletariat is to overthrow the capitalist mode of production and finally abolish the whole class structure.

   A dictatorship of the proletariat is the first stage of the revolution.

2. Usually the proletariat the class made up of wage earners, especially unskilled or semiskilled workers who earn their living by manual labor, often dependent on daily or casual employment and typically having low levels of education and disposable income; the working class.

3. the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property, especially in ancient Rome.

---

proletariat British  

/ ˌprəʊlɪˈtɛərɪət /

noun

1. all wage-earners collectively

2. the lower or working class

3. (in Marxist theory) the class of wage-earners, esp industrial workers, in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their labour

4. (in ancient Rome) the lowest class of citizens, who had no property

---

proletariat ¹ Cultural  

1. A term often applied to industrial workers, particularly by followers of Karl Marx (see also Marx).

---

proletariat ² Cultural  

1. In Marxism, the industrial working class, people without property.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonproletariat noun
• proletarian adjective

Etymology

Origin of proletariat

First recorded in 1850–55; from French prolétariat; equivalent to proletary + -ate ³

Compare meaning

How does proletariat compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• proletariat vs. bourgeoisie

Example Sentences

Even as employers complain about a dearth of qualified workers, a growing college-educated proletariat can’t find jobs they want to work.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s not a proletariat hostel, but it’s in the right neighborhood.

From Salon

Ylfa’s sauce enthusiasm addresses class disparity, the suppression of the proletariat, egomania and how food can unite people and tear them apart.

From Salon

“I consider myself politically proletariat,” he told The New York Times in 2015.

From New York Times

What distinguishes “A Slight Ache” from “The Room,” The Birthday Party” and “The Dumb Waiter” — three plays from the same early period — is that it’s the bourgeoisie, not the proletariat, under mounting inexplicable pressure.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• lower class