the masses

1. The body of common people, or people of low socioeconomic status, as in TV sitcoms are designed to appeal to the masses. This idiom is nearly always used in a snobbish context that puts down the taste, intelligence, or some other quality of the majority of people. W.S. Gilbert satirized this view in the peers' march in Iolanthe (1882), in which the lower-middle class and the masses are ordered to bow down before the peers. Prime Minister William Gladstone took a different view (Speech, 1886): “All the world over, I will back the masses against the [upper] classes.” [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

“A century from now, when they write of the two or three pivotal moments that led to the saving of Western civilization, they will write that the sacrifice of Charles James Kirk was the turning point,” Jack Posobiec, the right-wing influencer, told the masses at Kirk’s memorial.

From Slate

Looks like it’s time to pump that stock before it’s dumped by the masses.

From Los Angeles Times

The Broad, home to the vast art collection of Eli and Edythe Broad, aimed to deliver world-class art to the masses for free.

From Los Angeles Times

This year, for the first time, a woman will lead the masses in chants of “Long live Mexico!”

From Los Angeles Times

"It is particularly revolting to experience our family's tragedy being turned into entertainment for the masses and to know that people are using our family's trauma for their own personal gain."

From BBC