underclass

noun

un·​der·​class ˈən-dər-ˌklas How to pronounce underclass (audio)
: the lowest social stratum usually made up of disadvantaged minority groups

Examples of underclass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This would end up creating a vulnerable, exploitable and marginalized underclass as bad or worse than under the Jim Crow legislation that denied civil liberties and rights to Blacks in this country. Thomas Wenski, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025 His writing launched a latter-day focus by successive popes on the underclasses, capitalism and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few. Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025 But perhaps most of all, Wong was sensitive to otherness and underclass. Max Lakin, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025 If the aliens are meant to be the othered underclass, why is just about everyone at the Ghorman Front meeting also human? Jesse Hassenger, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for underclass

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of underclass was in 1918

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Cite this Entry

“Underclass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underclass. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.

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