underclass

American

[uhn-der-klas, -klahs] / ˈʌn dərˌklæs, -ˌklɑs /

noun

a social stratum consisting of impoverished persons with very low social status.

underclass British

/ ˈʌndəˌklɑːs /

noun

a class beneath the usual social scale consisting of the most disadvantaged people, such as the unemployed in inner cities

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Grammar

See collective noun.

Etymology

Origin of underclass

First recorded in 1915–20; under- + class

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Call you outcast, low down, you can’t make it, you’re nothing, you’re from nobody, subclass, underclass; when you see Jesse Jackson, when my name goes in nomination, your name goes in nomination.”

From Los Angeles Times

Efraín, meanwhile, welcomes her as a sort of providential poet of the underclass, and wants her to read at the opening of a poetry festival.

From The Wall Street Journal

I will secure and defend our borders — but I will also stop consigning many who are here to a permanent underclass.

From Salon

Also known as Jokowi, Widodo, now 62, nurtured an image of an Indonesian everyman with a soft spot for the underclass and down-to-earth lifestyle that resonated with a wide base of ordinary voters.

From Seattle Times

Chris Evans, Captain America himself, stars as the leader of the underclass, who foments a revolution that results in disturbing revelations about those around them.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023