social class

noun

plural social classes
: a group of people sharing the same social or socioeconomic status : class sense 2a
The well-to-do WTUL [=Women's Trade Union League] volunteers who joined striking New York City shirtwaist workers in 1909 had used their elegant attire to convey the fact that no woman, whatever her social class, could ignore the hardships endured by clothing workers in America.Ellen Cain
Her research explores the use and abuse of diversity and inclusion policy as a form of reputation management, and how social class influences access to and career progression within 'elite' occupations.Queen Mary University of London
The eight women denied being witches, but Mary was believed. She was 18, pretty, educated and from a higher social class.Martina Devlin

Examples of social class in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Fennell serves as writer, director and producer of the classic Gothic romance, based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, which explores love, revenge and social class. Giana Levy, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025 Froseth stars as May Welland, a kind and genuine woman who is a product of her social class. Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025 Adapted from a French bestseller, the dystopian thriller imagines a near-future Paris in which neighborhoods have been divided up into zones based on social class, with a police force operating under the command of ALMA, a predictive AI system (voiced, in the film, by an actual AI system). Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025 The building blocks of the central child-murderer plot aren’t terribly original on their own, but The Alienist always makes its setting feel indispensable, braiding its police procedural seamlessly into the particulars of social class and police corruption at the turn of the 19th century. Elle Carroll, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for social class

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of social class was in 1794

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Cite this Entry

“Social class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20class. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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