underclass
nounEtymology From under- + class.
1
The poorest class of people in a given society.
- The two are immediately caught up in a terrorist plot to rid the earth of its underclass, and this gives Nobby the chance to live out a James Bond fantasy of Englishness, with his own lager-swilling twist.2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):
- Still, among New York’s creative underclass — cash poor but culturally potent — it feels like everything but socialism is now irrelevant.2019 March 3, Simon van Zuylen-Wood, “When Did Everyone Become a Socialist?”, in New York Magazine:
1 more example
- While there are reasons to be optimistic about this trend, there is also something queasy about the emergence of a new underclass of urban servants.2019 August 12, Derek Thompson, “America's Hot New Job Is Being a Rich Person's Servant”, in The Atlantic:
- Derived terms
- permanent underclass, underclasser, underclassness, underclassperson, underclasswoman
- Related terms
- subculture