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It might be news to you that the term fourth estate has been around for centuries. In Europe, going back to medieval times, the people who participated in the political life of a country were generally divided into three classes or estates. In England they were the three groups with representation in Parliament, namely, the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. Some other group, like the mob or the public press, that had an unofficial but often great influence on public affairs, was called the fourth estate. In the 19th century, fourth estate came to refer exclusively to the press, and now it's applied to all branches of the news media.
Examples of fourth estate in a Sentence
Pat McCusker, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
Stay hydrated, and avoid the fourth estate types at all costs.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2025
Others still, such as Barbier, made the cause of the fourth estate their own.
—Walter Benjamin, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
President Donald Trump has made two restrictions on the free press since taking office two months ago and both are unprecedented in modern times and strike at the backbone of the fourth estate.
—Megan Schrader, The Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fourth estate
Cite this Entry
“Fourth estate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fourth%20estate. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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