middle class

middle class (plural middle classes)

1. A social and economic class lying above the working class and below the upper class.
   • 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism.

2. (plural) The groups in society composed of professionals, semi-professionals, and lower-to-middle managerial level workers.

• middle-class
• upper middle class

• bourgeoisie
• bourgie
• white-collar
• yuppie, yuppies