classism

noun

class·​ism ˈkla-ˌsi-zəm 

1

: a belief that a person's social or economic station in society determines their value in that society

[Michael] Moore helped create the era of snark, but he also bore a lot of it, and much of the criticism of him carries a whiff of classism.

—Jessica Pressler

also : behavior that reflects this belief : prejudice or discrimination based on class

… the show explores classism and white privilege by comparing how school administrators treat him, as a rich white boy from a family with Ivy League pedigree, versus how they treat Latina and working-class Moe.

—Roxana Hadadi

2

: the systemic oppression of the lower class and middle class to the advantage of the upper class

Further, this is one way to dismantle the power difference society's privileges grant us through such institutions as racism or classism …

—Sarah Lucia Hoagland

classist

ˈkla-sist 

adjective

Examples of classism in a Sentence

a society plagued by racism and classism

Recent Examples on the Web

Mirren also has two romances in the show, one with a boy of status and another with the island’s young water taxi driver, to further highlight Lockhart's themes of classism. —Alyssa Davis, People.com, 19 June 2025

However, for me, there has to be an essence of classism in there. —Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

Most frustrating, Orwell’s limitations both politically and personally — especially the sexism, homophobia, and classism that occasionally seeped into his novels and essays — don’t receive much implicit or explicit acknowledgement within the film. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 May 2025

But for the genre’s devotees, the bans smack of classism. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1