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.
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as in working class
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of middle-class
Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
That, coupled with other income tax changes, saved poor and middle-class households more than $450 million last year.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026
Katica Roy, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
Africa’s insurance sector is increasing momentum due to greater demand from a growing middle class, a new report found.
—Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Adjective
Allen grew up in a middle-class, suburban part of Torrance, one of four siblings who would each go on to study at reputable universities.
—Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
That, coupled with other income tax changes, saved poor and middle-class households more than $450 million last year.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026
Noun
This middle class operates at a zero-margin state.
—Katica Roy, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
Africa’s insurance sector is increasing momentum due to greater demand from a growing middle class, a new report found.
—Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class
Adjective
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Injuries to key players on the Amazin’s contributed to some poor numbers as well.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
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Although poor students are disproportionately likely to receive special education in New York City, well-off disabled kids are the ones most acutely driving up the budget.—
Marc Novicoff,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Church did not, however, neglect the National Academy, and in 1849—in the midst of bloody riots pitting nativists against immigrants and New York’s working class against the wealthy—he was promoted to full academician status.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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People born into working class households in the 1840s should have been doing well in the 1870s.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Traditionally, the bourgeois novel questioned the viability of bourgeois life, not the viability of life itself.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Perhaps Fogel, a fervent leftist, chafed at having to celebrate the family, that bourgeois institution.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The economic cost of the war is now palpable – with cell-phone data outages that regularly blight major cities angering even the pro-Putin bourgeoisie – adding to a sense of the war beginning to hit the urban elite, who until now were mostly isolated from the invasion’s impact.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
4 May 2026
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Scheidt’s family were members of the German-Jewish bourgeoisie (a distant cousin, Albert Ballin, was general director of what became the world’s largest steamship line).—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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These are products have a short, simple ingredient lists that are easy to understand for regular consumers and are free from additives.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
7 May 2026
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Sometimes this involved simple in-person observations.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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Canary Wharf, formerly grim docks and working-class housing blocks in eastern London, has been transformed into a mammoth global commercial center.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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The son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, he was often criticized as being out of touch with working-class Canadians, a perception that contributed to mounting political pressure toward the end of his time in office.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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