as in middle class
the class of people who earn money by doing usually physical work and who are not rich or powerful
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in middle-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 working class
Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
In San Isidro, a movement was born Castillo and Otero grew up in San Isidro, a working class, hardscrabble neighborhood abutting the wharfs near the Port of Havana, and became friends – one a rapper, the other a visual artist.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Caroline McCaughey, Boston Herald, 4 June 2026
Unlike most Democrats, many working-class communities do not see globalization in their interest.
—Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Noun
Attacks on statutory rights are pushing these countries back to conditions reminiscent of the late nineteenth century, when poverty and slums were the norm for a working class with no social safety net.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
In San Isidro, a movement was born Castillo and Otero grew up in San Isidro, a working class, hardscrabble neighborhood abutting the wharfs near the Port of Havana, and became friends – one a rapper, the other a visual artist.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Adjective
Graham Platner wants Democrats to believe that Trump voters and working-class independents will vote for him.
—Caroline McCaughey, Boston Herald, 4 June 2026
Unlike most Democrats, many working-class communities do not see globalization in their interest.
—Nicholas Jacobs, The Conversation, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class
Noun
-
At one event in the backyard of a handsome home in Concord, Emanuel greeted voters and practiced a stump speech that highlighted strains on the middle class and the excesses of the tax system.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 June 2026
-
Garamendi is a Delta congressman who plans to focus on bringing jobs to the middle class, enhancing health care accessibility and investing in clean energy, according to his campaign website.—
Corey Schmidt,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
And Americans' definitions of a comfortable middle-class lifestyle have grown, Suhay says.—
Sarah Jackson,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
-
The former Chicago mayor and ambassador pitches himself as a tough, centrist Democrat focused on middle-class strain, reining in culture wars and even imposing a 75-year retirement age.—
Steven Sloan,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
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.—
Andrea Bajani,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
-
Pratt, who did not respond to a request for comment, lost his Pacific Palisades home in the fires and has won over many frustrated city residents with his anti-establishment message and cheeky AI videos — including one casting him as Batman, taking on a corrupt Democratic bourgeoisie.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
Adjective
-
Their attempts to destroy the bourgeois family were, like the efforts of Suzanna’s mother and grandmother, ambivalent and half-hearted.—
Julius Taranto,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
-
And their struggle, within their world, to lead a good life, to lead a life that has meaning—their struggle between whether to pursue romantic adventure or a staid, bourgeois life—felt very real to me, at age twenty-five.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
The second didn’t go nearly as well for Bussi as Karlsson and Howden scored on two of the Golden Knights’ six shots in the period to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third, the tying goal coming off a Seth Jarvis turnover and a couple of poor defensive plays by Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
-
Heat radiates from the pages of this extraordinary novel about a poor family in rural Mississippi in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Whenever your outfit feels a little plain, these goodies will inject some welcome personality—all without blowing a hole in your budget.—
Jake Henry Smith,
Glamour,
8 June 2026
-
The mezzanine’s railing alternates plain bronze spindles with miniature art deco skyscrapers.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
