upper-class

1 of 2

adjective

up·​per-class ˌə-pər-ˈklas How to pronounce upper-class (audio)
-ˈkläs
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the upper class

upper class

2 of 2

noun

: a social class occupying a position above the middle class and having the highest status in a society

Examples of upper-class in a Sentence

Noun a popular pastime among the upper classes a member of the upper class
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as an upper-class lawyer caught between his fiancée (Winona Ryder) and a controversial countess (Michelle Pfeiffer). Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024 These skills were useful to build the American economy with free labor that further enriched already wealthy aristocratic and upper-class Europeans. Julie Kratz, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Ann is his childhood sweetheart, but upper-class Helen falls for him, too – and her mother has designs on Artie’s wealth. Owen Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, Hilary meets with her friend Olivia (Flora Chan), an upper-class local who is aghast at her plans to divorce David. Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024 But the market for upper-class people in the Bay Area willing to overpay for laundry rather than doing it themselves wound up being too small, and competition from mom-and-pop laundromats was too fierce. Hank Tucker, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Dame Lorraine wears extravagant costumes, exaggerating the features of upper-class individuals. Melissa Noel, Essence, 13 Feb. 2024 The surplus of houses tailored to the upper-class demographic means there’s more supply than renter’s demand, which in turn incentivizes landlords and developers to slash prices and offer deals that make very expensive housing slightly less so. Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024 As Latta pushed the suburb’s expansion, upper-class houses rose on South Boulevard and East Boulevard, Latta Park was named on the east edge of the street grid and municipal fairgrounds stretched at the end of the trolley line on East Boulevard. Katie Toussaint, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Noun
In recent years, what was once a luxury product became increasingly mainstream as incomes have risen among China’s middle and upper classes. Siyi Zhao, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 The middle class is generally perceived as those who fall between the socio-economic hierarchy of the working class and upper class. Jack Kelly, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 But, in 1960, his parents, fearful of the rise of a Communist dictator, joined an exodus of the middle and upper classes. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 Fitzgerald’s writing is a critique of the self-mythologizing upper class; Luhrmann’s adaptation buys into the myth. Janey Tracey, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 In declaring war on the upper class that made him, Carlson joined a long, volatile lineage of combatants against the élite. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 Trapped between the monolith of Jim Crow, the inflexible world of the Black upper class, and the violence of Prohibition-era Chicago, Jay and Nelly work together and stoke the flames of a love worth fighting for. Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 West Hartford’s downtown long has been far more vibrant than Hartford’s, because that is where the middle and upper classes, the people who have money to spend, people who many years ago might have lived in Hartford, have moved. Chris Powell, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2024 But Shakespeare’s coronation as the king of English literature coincided with an increase of wealth among the upper classes, which rapidly drove up prices for a now desirably iconic volume. Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'upper-class.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1837, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1814, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of upper-class was in 1814

Dictionary Entries Near upper-class

Upper Chinook

upper-class

upper class

Cite this Entry

“Upper-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upper-class. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

upper class

noun
: the highest class in society
upper-class adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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