underclass
noun
un·der·class
ˈən-dər-ˌklas 
: the lowest social stratum usually made up of disadvantaged minority groups
Examples of underclass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the National Supported Work Demonstration project, America’s experiment to end the underclass through jobs.
—
Michael Bernick, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Denmark is a welfare society with a large and prosperous middle class, and our literature tends to reflect that, which is fair enough, but there’s another side to our country, too, and a growing underclass that literature should be giving voice to.
—Dennis Zhou, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Popular culture at the time, in movies such as Taxi Driver and Fort Apache, The Bronx depicted a dangerous urban landscape, with a menacing underclass, unemployed and threatening social stability.
—Michael Bernick, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Others fall into a rut of muddling along, a permanent socio-economic underclass the existence of which should cause the rest of us to feel shame.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
In Israel proper, Palestinians are a vast underclass, with higher rates of unemployment and a lower overall standard of living than Jewish Israelis.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2024
The underdogs are also the underclass, eventually facing Ivy League schools in their Olympics-qualifying meets, and ultimately the elite athletes of Hitler’s Germany.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023
The key underclass contributors include sophomore Max Arnold and freshman Brayden Axline whose brother Bennett played on the 2021 team.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2023
Before the concept of the viral underclass emerged, the underclass was already thought of as a contagion, one with a distinct geography.
—Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022
Michael Bernick, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Denmark is a welfare society with a large and prosperous middle class, and our literature tends to reflect that, which is fair enough, but there’s another side to our country, too, and a growing underclass that literature should be giving voice to.
—Dennis Zhou, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Popular culture at the time, in movies such as Taxi Driver and Fort Apache, The Bronx depicted a dangerous urban landscape, with a menacing underclass, unemployed and threatening social stability.
—Michael Bernick, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Others fall into a rut of muddling along, a permanent socio-economic underclass the existence of which should cause the rest of us to feel shame.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024
In Israel proper, Palestinians are a vast underclass, with higher rates of unemployment and a lower overall standard of living than Jewish Israelis.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2024
The underdogs are also the underclass, eventually facing Ivy League schools in their Olympics-qualifying meets, and ultimately the elite athletes of Hitler’s Germany.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023
The key underclass contributors include sophomore Max Arnold and freshman Brayden Axline whose brother Bennett played on the 2021 team.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2023
Before the concept of the viral underclass emerged, the underclass was already thought of as a contagion, one with a distinct geography.
—Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underclass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Underclass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underclass. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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