underclass

noun

un·​der·​class ˈən-dər-ˌklas How to pronounce underclass (audio)
: the lowest social stratum usually made up of disadvantaged minority groups

Examples of underclass in a Sentence

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But there’s also an alternate future—perhaps one that more resembles the political economy of the present—where tech trillionaires lock in their new power, sideline the state as a political force, and usher in a world where most people are trapped in a permanent underclass. Billy Perrigo, Time, 9 Oct. 2025 Passing this bill would be the first official step toward creating a permanent resident underclass with a perpetually renewable legal status that falls short of citizenship. The Editors, National Review, 21 July 2025 Among the first of its type, Damiano Damiani’s A Bullet for the General mixes rousing action with a story of betrayal and political assassination that ends with an unambiguous call for the underclass to take up arms. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 18 July 2025 The director never sugarcoats life in the Big Apple for Lu, his family, nor for the rest of the striving migrant underclass. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for underclass

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of underclass was in 1918

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Cite this Entry

“Underclass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underclass. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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