second-class citizen

American  

noun

1. a citizen, especially a member of a minority group, who is denied the social, political, and economic benefits of citizenship.

2. a person who is not accorded a fair share of respect, recognition, or consideration.

   The boss treats us all like second-class citizens.

---

second-class citizen British  

noun

1. a person whose rights and opportunities are treated as less important than those of other people in the same society

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second-class citizen

What that says to a kid is, “My parent is working. My parent is on their phone. I am a second-class citizen to that.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024

He said his apparent placement on the U.S. government’s watchlist has rendered him a second-class citizen in his adopted country, and that his apparent removal from the list has failed to fully restore his rights.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023

Individualism coinciding with the residual influence of empire created a cultural climate in which the country’s aspirant classes depended on the belief of a second-class citizen.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2020

But it wasn’t so long ago that Team USA had become a second-class citizen in the basketball world.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2018

“Comedy is sometimes a second-class citizen in the arts,” he said.

From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2010