How do you define social class?

A social class is a group of people who are similar in terms of their income, the kind of job they do, and their level of education, among other factors.

Social class is mainly about wealth, but it's also connected to status within society. While the lines between social classes have blurred in most societies, many people have a sense of belonging to the lower, middle, or upper class. In some countries, you are born into a certain social class with little ability to move out of it. In other places, striking it rich or graduating from college might propel you out of one class into a higher one.

Definitions of social class

  1. noun

    people having the same social, economic, or educational status

    synonyms: class, socio-economic class, stratum

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    types:show 40 types...hide 40 types... domain, world

    people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest

    age class

    people in the same age range

    agriculture

    the class of people engaged in growing food

    brotherhood, fraternity, sodality

    people engaged in a particular occupation

    estate, estate of the realm, the three estates

    a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights

    labor, labour, proletariat, working class

    a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages

    lower class, underclass

    the social class lowest in the social hierarchy

    bourgeoisie, middle class

    the social class between the lower and upper classes

    booboisie

    class consisting of all those who are considered boobs

    commonality, commonalty, commons

    a class composed of persons lacking clerical or noble rank

    peasantry

    the class of peasants

    demimonde

    a class of woman not considered respectable because of indiscreet or promiscuous behavior

    underworld

    the criminal class

    yeomanry

    class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land

    caste

    a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth

    caste

    (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity

    upper class, upper crust

    the class occupying the highest position in the social hierarchy

    ninja

    a class of 14th century Japanese who were trained in martial arts and were hired for espionage and assassinations

    firing line

    the most advanced and responsible group in an activity

    immigrant class

    recent immigrants who are lumped together as a class by their low socioeconomic status in spite of different cultural backgrounds

    center

    politically moderate persons; centrists

    old school

    a class of people favoring traditional ideas

    market

    the customers for a particular product or service

    craft, trade

    people who perform a particular kind of skilled work

    fair sex, woman, womanhood

    women as a class

    Lords Spiritual, first estate

    the clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain

    Lords Temporal, second estate

    the nobility in France and the peerage in Britain

    Commons, third estate

    the common people

    fourth estate

    the press, including journalists, newspaper writers, photographers

    labor force, labor pool

    the source of trained people from which workers can be hired

    lumpenproletariat

    (Marxism) the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancement

    organized labor

    employees who are represented by a labor union

    petit bourgeois, petite bourgeoisie, petty bourgeoisie

    lower middle class (shopkeepers and clerical staff etc.)

    academe, academia

    the academic world

    Grub Street

    the world of literary hacks

    jati

    (Hinduism) a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members (such as barber or potter)

    elite, elite group

    a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status

    aristocracy, gentry

    the most powerful members of a society

    people in power, ruling class

    the class of people exerting power or authority

    black market

    people who engage in illicit trade

    type of: people

    (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively

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Social class is division in society where people share a common level of income, status, power and prestige as well as common values. You can have a look on socioeconomic status.

Cite this page: N., Sam M.S., "SOCIAL CLASS," in PsychologyDictionary.org, April 13, 2013, https://psychologydictionary.org/social-class/ (accessed November 19, 2022).

What is social class and examples?

A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, income, and belonging to a particular subculture or social network.

Who first defined social class?

The ways in which different social classes display cultural markers which differentiate each from one another. These are usually formed in childhood and often outlive changes in economic circumstances. The theory was first described by Bourdieu.

What is social class and its characteristics?

Social class is the division within a society based on a person's economic, social, and intellectual characteristics. Individuals who are grouped in the same social class share the same wealth, education, and income.

How is social class defined quizlet?

What is social class? A measure of STATUS which is often based on occupation, income and wealth, but can also be measured in terms of aspirations and mobility. These factors are used to group individuals scoring similarly on these factors into socioeconomic classes.