Meanings
plural plebs
- A commoner; a member of the lower class of a society.
- 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 - 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 1891 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
- not comparableOf or concerning the lower class of a society.
- derogatorynot comparableUndistinguished, commonplace, unsophisticated, vulgar, coarse.
Synonyms & antonyms
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
pleb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb
“pleb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pleb,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pleb.
Source: pleb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.