as in poor
belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank
She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, as did most of her classmates.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in working class
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of middle class
Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
America’s middle class is spooked about the economy.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The film’s exploration of middle-class desperation and automation couldn’t be more timely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle class
Adjective
Homeownership, once the bedrock of the American middle class, is slipping away.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
America’s middle class is spooked about the economy.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
Getty Images for IMDb Director Alex Winter’s Adulthood might be about the secrets and struggles of America's middle-class, but there's something very British about the darkly comedic romp.
—Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The film’s exploration of middle-class desperation and automation couldn’t be more timely.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle class
Adjective
-
Similar protests occurred in Brazil over steep living costs and poor healthcare and education ahead of the country hosting the 2014 World Cup tournament.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Over time, dysfunctional breathing reinforces poor posture and scapular instability.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The album also incorporated ancestral Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms and jíbaro sounds, grounding its critique in the cultural and musical roots of the island’s working class.—
Raquel Reichard,
Refinery29,
30 Sep. 2025
-
About Marcus King Marcus King grew up in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains in a working class family with deep roots in music.—
Sid Evans,
Southern Living,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This is the mystification at the heart of the trinity formula in which bourgeois economics conceives of commodities as resulting from the combination of three factors of production: land, labor, and capital.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The film’s portrayal of Kafka as a misunderstood genius stymied by bourgeois capitalist priorities is sympathetic but hardly radical, while its engagement with his actual work is limited, give or take some canny quotation in Marek Epstein’s script.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This kind of soft satire also puts me in mind of Dorothy West, who excellently sent up a nascent Black bourgeoisie in novels like The Wedding.—
Brittany Allen
July 10,
Literary Hub,
10 July 2025
-
Its leaders sanctioned the mass appropriation of lands from the nobility and their distribution to smaller farmers and the urban bourgeoisie.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Jared Jewelers Bulova Phantom Watch A watch is both practical and fashionable, and this style adds a touch of sparkle to simple outfits.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Each year, as the temperature rises, the town’s regular population of around 300 swells with thousands of kids soaking up the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That leaves places such as Apache County in limbo in a debate centered over keeping government fully operational at existing funding levels and revising health insurance coverage for poor and working-class Americans.—
Ronald J. Hansen,
AZCentral.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
This left kids, seniors and people from nonwhite, working-class communities with few alternative routes.—
Menika Dirkson,
The Conversation,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Middle class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle%20class. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share