pleb

P3L1E1B3
/plɛb/

noun

A commoner; a member of the lower class of a society.

Opposite
Scrabble 8

Meanings

nounpleb (plural plebs)

plural plebs

  1. derogatoryA common person; an unsophisticated or cultureless person.

    You're under my roof, you pleb.

    1795, John O'Keeffe, Life's Vagaries, act V, scene ii, line 85
  2. USderogatoryslangusuallyA freshman cadet at a military academy.

    At Annapolis, the natives are crabs, the freshmen plebs, the sophomores youngsters.

    1922, Dialect Notes, number 5, American Dialect Society, page 189
    1 more example

    I found some of the novices, plebs they are called, home-sick, and weary with their discipline.

    1838, Caroline H. Gilman, The Poetry of Travelling in the United States..., page 76
adjectivepleb (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or concerning the lower class of a society.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

nounone of the common people

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

A clipping of plebeian and plebe, sometimes also understood as a back-formation from plebs.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish rahvas, prole
  • rahvascommon person
  • prolecommon person
  • junttirube, unsophisticated person
  • silakkafreshman cadet (derogatory)
German Prolet
  • Proletcommon person
Persian عامی
  • عامی ('âmmi)common person
Portuguese ralé, gentalha
  • ralécommon person
  • gentalhacommon person
  • plebecommon person
  • zécommon person
Russian бы́дло
  • бы́дло (býdlo)common person
Spanish mandado, plebeyo
  • mandadocommon person
  • plebeyocommon person
Thai ไพร่
  • ไพร่ (prâi)common person
Ukrainian просто́люд, простолю́ддя
  • просто́люд (prostóljud)common person
  • простолю́ддя (prostoljúddja)common person
  • просто́лю́дин (prostóljúdyn)common person

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with pleb

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

pleb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb

MLA

“pleb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pleb,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb.

Source: pleb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.