petite bourgeoisie
noun
: the lower middle class including especially small shopkeepers and artisans
Examples of petite bourgeoisie in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The landed gentry hold hands with bankers, the petite bourgeoisie, and the nouveaux riche.
—
Samuel Earle, The New Republic, 23 Feb. 2021
Image This tournament, thus far, has belonged not to soccer’s great aristocratic houses, but to its petite bourgeoisie.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 June 2018
Each mobilized men and women from a broad spectrum of the population but had particular attraction for the petite bourgeoisie.
—Nancy K. MacLean, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017
The airport is to America’s petite bourgeoisie—the small-time capitalists and traveling salesmen who delivered us to Trump—what the factory is to the white working class: a symbol of how much better things used to be.
—Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017
Samuel Earle, The New Republic, 23 Feb. 2021
Image This tournament, thus far, has belonged not to soccer’s great aristocratic houses, but to its petite bourgeoisie.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 June 2018
Each mobilized men and women from a broad spectrum of the population but had particular attraction for the petite bourgeoisie.
—Nancy K. MacLean, Slate Magazine, 20 Mar. 2017
The airport is to America’s petite bourgeoisie—the small-time capitalists and traveling salesmen who delivered us to Trump—what the factory is to the white working class: a symbol of how much better things used to be.
—Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine, 7 Sep. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'petite bourgeoisie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
French, literally, small bourgeoisie
First Known Use
1872, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of petite bourgeoisie was
in 1872
Dictionary Entries Near petite bourgeoisie
Cite this Entry
“Petite bourgeoisie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petite%20bourgeoisie. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023.
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