social climber

American  

noun

1. a person who attempts to gain admission into a group with a higher social standing.

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social climber British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: climber.  a person who seeks advancement to a higher social class, esp by obsequious behaviour

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Other Word Forms

• social climbing noun

Etymology

Origin of social climber

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Mr. Restall’s Columbus was a man on the make, a social climber who used his marriage in 1479 to Felipa Moniz, the daughter of a minor aristocrat, to further his standing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

He is a vain social climber, easily fooled by his clever, beautiful young wife.

From Slate • May 4, 2023

This disconnect is represented most glaringly in Tom Wambsgans, a much-mocked social climber who married into the family, and effectively, the family business.

From New York Times • Jan. 9, 2022

To Gloria, Andy did not seem at all like a stereotypical Hill workaholic social climber.

From Washington Post • Nov. 27, 2021

As Joanne Kaufman reported in the Wall Street journal, Ms. Pittman was known in certain elevated circles more as a social climber than mountain climber.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer