proletariat
noun
pro·le·tar·i·at
ˌprō-lə-ˈter-ē-ət 
-ē-ˌat
1
: the laboring class
especially
: the class of industrial workers who lack their own means of production and hence sell their labor to live
2
: the lowest social or economic class of a community
Examples of proletariat in a Sentence
the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution
Recent Examples on the Web
Severin, on the other hand, represents the revolutionary proletariat.
—
JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
Lower than proletariat workers, the lumpenproletariat includes the indigent and the unemployable, those cast out of the workforce with no recourse, or those who can’t enter it in the first place, such as young workers in times of economic depression.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Somehow, this respectable foe of radicalism had organized the political realignment that broke up the Union, sustained the war that overthrew the South’s ruling class, and managed the struggle that emancipated its proletariat.
—Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
As is the case with the aesthetics of people, exquisite lines can be found on patrician and proletariat cars alike.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
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JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025
Lower than proletariat workers, the lumpenproletariat includes the indigent and the unemployable, those cast out of the workforce with no recourse, or those who can’t enter it in the first place, such as young workers in times of economic depression.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Somehow, this respectable foe of radicalism had organized the political realignment that broke up the Union, sustained the war that overthrew the South’s ruling class, and managed the struggle that emancipated its proletariat.
—Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
As is the case with the aesthetics of people, exquisite lines can be found on patrician and proletariat cars alike.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for proletariat
Cite this Entry
“Proletariat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proletariat. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
proletariat
noun
pro·le·tar·i·at
ˌprō-lə-ˈter-ē-ət
-ˈtar-,
-ē-ˌat
1
: the lowest social or economic class of a community
2
: industrial workers who sell their labor to live
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