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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in working class
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of middle-class
Moisés Naím, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
Seeking to fill a vacuum within a party struggling to respond to Trump and his efforts to dismantle the federal government, Pritzker has offered a message that attempts to recapture middle-class voters who abandoned the party in the 2024 elections.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
However, this aspiring middle class—a non-unionized, kind of creative, professional class—in real terms, their lives have gotten worse economically in the last 10 years.
—Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Adjective
Public housing in Chile had never included such middle-class trappings as parking.
—Moisés Naím, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
Seeking to fill a vacuum within a party struggling to respond to Trump and his efforts to dismantle the federal government, Pritzker has offered a message that attempts to recapture middle-class voters who abandoned the party in the 2024 elections.
—Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
Noun
Claiming that free trade agreements have spurred upward social mobility, one of his slides asserted that the middle class has shrunk in recent years only because more people had moved into the upper class.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
However, this aspiring middle class—a non-unionized, kind of creative, professional class—in real terms, their lives have gotten worse economically in the last 10 years.
—Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle-class
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-class
Adjective
-
There’s a real debate to be had about what responsibility better-off neighborhoods like Hyde Park have to help solve humanitarian problems that often are laid at the feet of poorer areas.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
-
The weather bulletin, which was issued at 12:29 a.m., warned of flash flooding in small creeks, streams, urban areas, highways, streets, underpasses, low-lying areas and places with poor drainage.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The party has become the party of the college-educated and for the college-educated — and its members talk like it in ways the working class often finds condescending or alienating.—
Alex Thompson,
Axios,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Spilt Milk is a wonderful coming of age tale set in the blue collar world of Dublin’s working class.—
Scott Phillips,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Pleated skirts and argyle sweater vests, all in neutral shades of navy, taupe and traditional black, completed the bourgeois wardrobe.—
Rhonda Richford,
WWD,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Ibsen saw an individual’s self-determination as a remedy for bourgeois hypocrisy, the first salvo of liberation.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
This creative evolution has expanded papier-mâché’s market appeal, with a new generation of clientele emerging – a group that includes interior designers, a local urban bourgeoisie, and international buyers.—
Fahad Shah,
Christian Science Monitor,
2 Apr. 2025
-
The company was started around the same time as other famous French stores like Le Bon Marché (1852) and La Samaritaine (1870), both of which, like Printemps, catered to the country’s growing bourgeoisie.—
Lanna Apisukh,
New York Times,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
That simplicity feels so apt for this show, There's enough here: The production is simple and sweet, while Jonas and Warren exude a certain magnetism.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Kit kept things simple with a traditional dark blue suit, pairing the look with a white shirt and polkadot bowtie and his usual glasses.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
More to Explore Oyster Pirates in the San Francisco Bay Katrina Gulliver February 13, 2023 Once a key element in Native economies of the region, clams and oysters became a reliable source of free protein for working-class and poor urban dwellers.—
Logan Kistler,
JSTOR Daily,
3 Apr. 2025
-
The results of the 1920 census showed a rapidly urbanizing population, propelled largely by the millions of working-class (often Southern and Eastern European) immigrants and their children who had moved to the country’s industrial centers in preceding decades.—
Made by History,
Time,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Middle-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-class. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share