as in middle class
the class of people who earn money by doing usually physical work and who are not rich or powerful
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as in middle-class
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Recent Examples of working class
Daniel Wortel-London, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City yesterday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
The show reveals the dramatics of the posh upper-class (back then, football was a sport for the wealthy) and follows how a working-class team makes its way to the Football Association finals, only to come up against an aristocratic club that has long held the champion title.
—Stephanie Bai, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Noun
But framing the city’s problems purely in terms of race and poverty obscured the broader swath of issues facing the city’s working class.
—Daniel Wortel-London, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City yesterday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class.
—Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Due to its working-class roots, and the cold-water flats that go with them, Tampere has more public saunas than any other city in Finland.
—Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
The show reveals the dramatics of the posh upper-class (back then, football was a sport for the wealthy) and follows how a working-class team makes its way to the Football Association finals, only to come up against an aristocratic club that has long held the champion title.
—Stephanie Bai, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for working class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for working class
Noun
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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
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There is some evidence that one reason the middle class is shrinking is that more people have entered upper-income tiers.—
Mark Robert Rank,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But this community of musicians on Ocean Avenue sprung up less by design and more as a byproduct of affordable housing shrinking to an ever-smaller pool of neighborhoods, among them Midwood, a middle-class residential area in south-central Brooklyn nestled between Marine Park and Bensonhurst.—
Daniel Yadin,
Curbed,
11 Feb. 2026
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All of Youngblood’s victims, some wealthy, some middle-class, trusted him.—
Matthew Bremner,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There are things to satirize, trouble, and celebrate about the Black bourgeoisie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 Nov. 2025
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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
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These people came from bourgeois families.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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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
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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For areas south and east of the city, a change to plain rain is anticipated before clearing later in the night.—
Matthew Villafane,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Once the burners are completely cool, use a cloth dampened with plain water to wipe off the spill.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Working class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20class. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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