Meanings
nounlower class (plural lower classes)
plural lower classes
- A class of people in a society characterized by low incomes, low level of education, high unemployment and, as a result of these, a low social status.
The only language of the lower class is pidgin-English—quite incomprehensible to the newcomer from Great Britain, —but a large proportion of the inhabitants are highly educated men who excel as lawyers, clergymen, clerks and traders.
1911, “Freetown”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic الطَّبَقَاتُ الدُّنْيَا
- الطَّبَقَاتُ الدُّنْيَا (aṭ-ṭabaqātu d-dunyā)class of people
Chinese Mandarin 下層階級 /下层阶级
- 下層階級 /下层阶级 (xiàcéng jiējí)class of people
Finnish alaluokka
- alaluokkaclass of people
French bas peuple, petit peuple
- bas peupleclass of people
- petit peupleclass of people
Irish ísealaicme, íosaicme
- ísealaicmeclass of people
- íosaicmeclass of people
Japanese 下層階級
- 下層階級 (kasō kaikyū)class of people
Korean 하층 계급
- 하층 계급 (hacheung gyegeup)class of people
Polish klasa niższa
- klasa niższaclass of people
Portuguese classe baixa
- classe baixaclass of people
Russian ни́зший класс
- ни́зший класс (nízšij klass)class of people
Spanish clase baja
- clase bajaclass of people
Swedish underklass
- underklassclass of people
Tamil அடித்தட்டு
- அடித்தட்டு (aṭittaṭṭu)class of people
Turkish alt tabaka, alt sınıf
- alt tabakaclass of people
- alt sınıfclass of people
Ukrainian ни́жчий клас
- ни́жчий клас (nýžčyj klas)class of people
Cite this entry
APA
lower class. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lower%20class
MLA
“lower class.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lower%20class. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lower class,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lower%20class.
Source: lower class on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.