peasant

noun

peas·​ant ˈpe-zᵊnt 

1

: a member of a European class of persons tilling the soil as small landowners or as laborers

This land was farmed by peasants for centuries.

also : a member of a similar class elsewhere

2

: a usually uneducated person of low social status

They treated us like a bunch of peasants.

Examples of peasant in a Sentence

They treated us like a bunch of peasants.

Recent Examples on the Web

That moment promulgated the peasant shoe into fashion territory—and opened the door for the many espadrille variants to come. —Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2025

Flowy peasant blouses, simple tees, and more start at just $11. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 26 July 2025

Born in a small town in 1909 in Austria-Hungary, present-day Romania, Leili was an ethnic German peasant, who like millions of others had been tossed from place to place by the forces convulsing Europe. —Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 20 May 2025

Meanwhile, my family plot, the little cemetery of Sturgeons in the thinning wood, added one or two angry peasant types to its numbers. —Jonathon Sturgeon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English paissaunt, from Anglo-French paisant, pesaunt, from pais, paiis country, from Late Latin pagensis inhabitant of a district, from Latin pagus district; akin to Latin pangere to fix — more at pact

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for peasant

• pheasant
• pleasant
• present
• omnipresent
• unpleasant

Kids Definition

peasant

noun

peas·​ant ˈpez-ᵊnt 

1

: a European small farmer or farm laborer

2

: a member of a similar agricultural class elsewhere