underclass

American  

[uhn-der-klas, -klahs] / ˈʌn dərˌklæs, -ˌklɑs /

noun

1. a social stratum consisting of impoverished persons with very low social status.

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underclass British  

/ ˈʌndəˌklɑːs /

noun

1. a class beneath the usual social scale consisting of the most disadvantaged people, such as the unemployed in inner cities

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Etymology

Origin of underclass

First recorded in 1915–20; under- + class

Example Sentences

Nearly two decades earlier, Rudy Giuliani campaigned from the other direction, railing against the “squeegee men” underclass.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

“It reflects longstanding assumptions about the differences between middle-class and either working-class or underclass people” that it was deemed acceptable to turn certain bodies over but not others, she said.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2023

But the average actor in Los Angeles is far more likely to be a member of the creative underclass, squeezing in auditions between shifts at a service job, than a wealthy star.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2023

To its adherents, Beckett’s had become a downtown sanctuary for the city’s creative underclass.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2023

Javi was already there, all the way across the room, near the podium, and already holding court with a few underclass students.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely