serfs

noun

plural of serf
as in slaves
a person in the past who belonged to a low social class and who lived and worked on land owned by another person Medieval serfs who tended land owned by a lord.

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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 serfs Nowadays there is less merriment, sunk as Moscow is in a combination of Putin stagnation, the Ukraine war, and the techno-feudalism that is making serfs of all of us in a world owned by billionaires pumping propaganda through the black boxes in the palm of our hands. — Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serfs
  1. slaves
  2. servants
Noun
  • Bamboo slips from Shuihudi count the work of young slaves as units of production, and slips held by the Yuelu Academy describe apprenticeships in state workshops.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Also a list of the true names and addresses of all former slaves, along with their actual occupations and 1858 yearly incomes, which, surprising no one, were right on par with the incomes of similar whites.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of slaves
Noun
  • Banks paid millions of dollars by today’s standards to bring along a botanist, artists, servants, his greyhound and scientific equipment.
    — Saar Shahar, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The remains of these servants, or retainers, were first excavated from the funerary complexes at Abydos, eastern Egypt, which date from around 3000 BC, in the 1920s.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of servants

Browse Nearby Words

serfdoms
serfs
sergeant
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Cite this Entry

“Serfs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfs. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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