as in middle class
the class of people who earn money by doing usually physical work and who are not rich or powerful
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as in middle-class
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Recent Examples of working class
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
Strictly speaking, Connie is an aristocrat and Mellors is working class.
—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Created by Brad Ingelsby, the first season of Task found Ruffalo’s Brandis forming a task force to track down a crew of masked robbers, led by a working-class family man, that were carrying out a series of violent crimes in the Philadelphia area.
—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Noun
To Mike Madrid, a Republican consultant who has studied Latino voters, Becerra’s campaign represents a shift in Democratic politics away from the most progressive parts of the state and toward a more working class orientation.
—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
Strictly speaking, Connie is an aristocrat and Mellors is working class.
—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
Air quality officials said the air around Boyle Heights, a working-class neighborhood, remained very unhealthy Monday and that particulates in the smoke were also affecting the San Gabriel Valley.
—
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Created by Brad Ingelsby, the first season of Task found Ruffalo’s Brandis forming a task force to track down a crew of masked robbers, led by a working-class family man, that were carrying out a series of violent crimes in the Philadelphia area.
—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class
Noun
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As America’s middle class underwent an unprecedented expansion, African Americans remained subject to discriminatory housing, employment, and banking practices.
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But porters were able to supplement their wages with tips, which helped propel their families toward the middle class.
Adjective
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Shifters follows Dre, a Brit of Nigerian heritage who comes from a council estate, and Des, the middle-class daughter of a neurologist.
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In the late 1940s, a series of court decisions saw more Black Los Angeles families move into neighborhoods such as Lafayette Square, an upper-middle-class enclave in Mid-City.
Noun
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For a long time, the lifestyles and foibles of the modest bourgeoisie were a mainstay of art-house cinema, with urbane, upscale audiences happy to turn out to see versions of their own lives depicted on the screen.
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His mother was born into Rome’s commercial bourgeoisie, but she had essentially been disinherited, nose-diving into the working class with a pair of children to raise.
Adjective
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In sharp contrast to the first-generation members of the Frankfurt School, Habermas came from a petit-bourgeois, culturally conservative Protestant milieu, his family name going back to sixteenth-century Thuringian cobblers.
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Their attempts to destroy the bourgeois family were, like the efforts of Suzanna’s mother and grandmother, ambivalent and half-hearted.
Adjective
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Rebecca Lowe joins Dan Patrick to discuss some of the top storylines around the World Cup, including Cristiano Ronaldo's poor play to start, the United States' potential and more.
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Will the gap between rural and urban America – and the gap between rich and poor America – decline or grow?
Adjective
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As one of Quince’s best-sellers, this soft T-shirt is a luxe swap for a plain cotton tee.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency develops and updates maps that determine who’s in a flood plain and must buy insurance, and to help communities plan.
Cite this Entry
“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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