working-class
/ˌwɜːkɪŋ ˈklɑːs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌwɜːrkɪŋ ˈklæs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈwər-kiŋ-ˈklas/ (ame, mw) · /ˌwɜː.kɪŋ ˈklɑːs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌwɝː.kɪŋ ˈklæs/ (ame, ipa)
working-class — adjective
1. connected with people or communities who live mainly on wages, especially from p
connected with people or communities who live mainly on wages, especially from practical or manual jobs
Harper grew up in a working-class area where her parents ran a small bakery.
working-class + area / family background
Ritu wrote a play about working-class mothers juggling rent, school fees, and night shifts.
common pattern: working-class + people group
The museum now collects working-class stories from shipyards and factory towns along the river.
Omar felt out of place at college because his working-class accent drew rude jokes.
The film shows how a working-class family saved for years to buy one car.
- blue-collar
narrower; points more directly to manual or industrial jobs
- low-income
focuses on money level only, not work culture or class identity
- lower-class
more judgmental; stresses low social rank rather than wage work
- middle-class
connected with people in the broad professional or office-based social group
- upper-class
connected with the wealthiest and most socially powerful group
文法句型
working-class + noun
be + working-class
用法筆記
Most often placed before a noun, as in working-class family or working-class area. After 'be', it usually describes a person's background or identity rather than a single job title.
常見錯誤
working-class — noun
1. the social group formed by wage-paid workers, especially people in practical or
the social group formed by wage-paid workers, especially people in practical or manual jobs
Caleb says the working class kept the city running during the winter strike.
the working class as one social group
After the mill closed, the working class in town lost hundreds of stable jobs.
Yasmin's grandfather joined the working class at fourteen and never finished school.
On the debate stage, Anong said the working class needed cheaper rents, not more slogans.
During the march, the working classes demanded safer mines and shorter hours.
- the labouring class
more historical or formal; less common in everyday speech
- wage earners
focuses on being paid wages, not on wider class identity
- ordinary workers
broader and less fixed as a social-class label
- the middle class
the broad group with more stable office or professional work
- the upper class
the wealthiest and most influential social group
文法句型
the working class
members of the working class
the working classes
用法筆記
Usually used with 'the' when you mean the social group as a whole. Use the adjective sense before another noun, as in working-class family or working-class district.