work·ing-class
ˈwər-kiŋ-ˈklas 
: of, relating to, deriving from, or suitable to the class of wage earners
working-class virtues
a working-class family
: the class of people who work for wages usually at manual labor
Examples of working-class in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia Buckley, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023
Most elite colleges, including Penn and Yale, trail larger state schools with more working-class students.
—Allysia Finley, WSJ, 10 Sep. 2023
During the committee meeting, state Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, said the area is home to many working-class residents and kids who use bicycles to get around, and there is no current safe route to get to the Coastal Trail from Northern Lights Boulevard.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
Nor is the film much interested in drawing any sweeping conclusions about the communities each belongs to — although its matter-of-fact acknowledgments about the everyday stresses of working-class life or the violent hostility faced by gay and trans people are statements in themselves.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2023
Each of these colleges, like Duke, has decided not to enroll many of the talented working-class students who are qualified to attend — and each would prefer not to call attention to this policy.
—David Leonhardt, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Not all the exhibition’s works portray a working-class grimness.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Their colorful delivery trucks prowl neighborhoods from the French Quarter to the lakefront, delivering bundles of fresh loaves daily and keeping this hearty working-class tradition alive.
—Pableaux Johnson, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2023
As the pace of the Republican primary season escalates, Biden is trying to reclaim ground among working-class voters who abandoned Democrats and moved their allegiance to former president Donald Trump and others over cultural issues.
—Fatima Hussein, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Sep. 2023
Beatriz Miranda, refinery29.com, 17 Aug. 2023
The hope was that Gym, an Asian American, could repeat Johnson’s success in Chicago: galvanize the Black working class and win over left-leaning whites.
—Ross Barkan, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2023
The song decries the rich and powerful who exploit working classes.
—Tori Otten, The New Republic, 25 Aug. 2023
This play by Ramiz Monsef amplified all the uncomfortable and frustrating conversations around economic privilege that the poor and working class must navigate in an effort to be understood.
—Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2023
The vast majority of the country’s working class does not toil on the factory floor with a union to look out for their interests.
—Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Advertisement Matthews grew up in the District’s Riverside Terrace neighborhood, a solid Black working class enclave that provided a protective bubble for kids like her.
—Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, 13 June 2023
The failures of political movements—whether to achieve a multiracial democracy or a social revolution centered on the Black working class or women’s liberation—threw off the timing of progress.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2023
That the words working class are synonymous in the minds of many Americans with white working class is the result of a political myth.
—Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2023
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Adjective
At the hotel’s restaurant, Locanda Sotto gli Archi, the menu is filled with old-fashioned working-class dishes.
—Julia Buckley, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023
Most elite colleges, including Penn and Yale, trail larger state schools with more working-class students.
—Allysia Finley, WSJ, 10 Sep. 2023
During the committee meeting, state Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, said the area is home to many working-class residents and kids who use bicycles to get around, and there is no current safe route to get to the Coastal Trail from Northern Lights Boulevard.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
Nor is the film much interested in drawing any sweeping conclusions about the communities each belongs to — although its matter-of-fact acknowledgments about the everyday stresses of working-class life or the violent hostility faced by gay and trans people are statements in themselves.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2023
Each of these colleges, like Duke, has decided not to enroll many of the talented working-class students who are qualified to attend — and each would prefer not to call attention to this policy.
—David Leonhardt, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Not all the exhibition’s works portray a working-class grimness.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Their colorful delivery trucks prowl neighborhoods from the French Quarter to the lakefront, delivering bundles of fresh loaves daily and keeping this hearty working-class tradition alive.
—Pableaux Johnson, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2023
As the pace of the Republican primary season escalates, Biden is trying to reclaim ground among working-class voters who abandoned Democrats and moved their allegiance to former president Donald Trump and others over cultural issues.
—Fatima Hussein, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Sep. 2023
Noun
For many of them, dancing for a living would be unattainable without Baptista, who inaugurated a job market that didn’t previously exist for the Black working class.
—Beatriz Miranda, refinery29.com, 17 Aug. 2023
The hope was that Gym, an Asian American, could repeat Johnson’s success in Chicago: galvanize the Black working class and win over left-leaning whites.
—Ross Barkan, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2023
The song decries the rich and powerful who exploit working classes.
—Tori Otten, The New Republic, 25 Aug. 2023
This play by Ramiz Monsef amplified all the uncomfortable and frustrating conversations around economic privilege that the poor and working class must navigate in an effort to be understood.
—Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2023
The vast majority of the country’s working class does not toil on the factory floor with a union to look out for their interests.
—Greg Jaffe, Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 2023
Advertisement Matthews grew up in the District’s Riverside Terrace neighborhood, a solid Black working class enclave that provided a protective bubble for kids like her.
—Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, 13 June 2023
The failures of political movements—whether to achieve a multiracial democracy or a social revolution centered on the Black working class or women’s liberation—threw off the timing of progress.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2023
That the words working class are synonymous in the minds of many Americans with white working class is the result of a political myth.
—Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic, 7 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'working-class.' 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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Dictionary Entries Near working-class
Cite this Entry
“Working-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/working-class. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
working class
noun
: the class of people who work for wages usually in manual labor
working-class
adjective
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