as in poor
belonging to the class of people of middle social or economic rank
She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, as did most of her classmates.
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as in working class
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of middle-class
Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026
There are no shortage of offbeat homes in these largely middle-class streets.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
While the middle class is stalling, to put it mildly, the irredeemably rich appear to be getting even richer.
—Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Adjective
Censori’s father, who had been convicted on heroin possession and firearm charges before Censori was born, owned a fleet of claw machines successful enough to send his middle-class children to private school.
—Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026
There are no shortage of offbeat homes in these largely middle-class streets.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
Noun
Following years of negativity about the economy, most Americans feel there are increasing opportunities for the wealthy today, but decreasing opportunities for the middle class.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
While the middle class is stalling, to put it mildly, the irredeemably rich appear to be getting even richer.
—Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class
Adjective
-
Semmann said stores raise prices primarily in response to supply chain issues, such as poor harvests, changes to international trade policy or increasing logistical costs.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Boating conditions are poor across offshore waters south of Cape Canaveral, while small craft need to exercise caution near the inlets.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To ignore race—or gender, or sexuality—while attempting to build working class solidarity is to say that there are some concerns of working class people that do not matter.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Unbeknownst to him, that woman is Sophie (Yerin Ha), a working class maid who doesn't have a place in the Bridgertons' high society.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
These people came from bourgeois families.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Jim Dickinson stepped in to produce and play a little piano, but Travis deemed the results too polished, too polite, too bourgeois.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There are things to satirize, trouble, and celebrate about the Black bourgeoisie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Its leaders sanctioned the mass appropriation of lands from the nobility and their distribution to smaller farmers and the urban bourgeoisie.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Feltner’s routine was pretty simple.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Crime 101 takes the same view of quid pro quo as the most basic form of American commerce and makes simple but brutal points about value and self-worth, where your car, its year, make and model, matters more than your resumé.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
East Palo Alto is a largely working-class city with many residents from immigrant and minority backgrounds.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
During the same period, union membership declined, the Democratic Party abandoned its working-class base, and both parties presided over the shrinking of the middle class.—
Annie Levin,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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