working class
1 Americannoun
-
those persons working for wages, especially in manual labor.
-
the social or economic class composed of these workers.
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- working-class adjective
Etymology
Origin of working class1
First recorded in 1805–15
Origin of working-class2
First recorded in 1830–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The EFF, also known locally as the red berets, are known for their signature red overalls worn by party leaders in parliament, meant to symbolise their affinity with South Africa's working class.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Catholics have long served as a barometer of acceptance for newcomers and the working class.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Many college-educated Americans, he contends, wind up in working-class retail and service-sector jobs that don’t use their education or in professional jobs that have become more “proletarianized” and therefore more working class.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
In “Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850–2000,” Geoff Eley writes that fascist violence was directed first and foremost against the organized working class and its institutions.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
These people, whose origins lay in the salaried middle class and the upper grades of the working class, had been shaped and brought together by the barren world of monopoly industry and centralized government.
From "1984" by George Orwell
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.