: a social class occupying a position above the middle class and having the highest status in a society
Synonyms
Examples of upper-class in a Sentence
Adjective
upper-class boys who had an entrenched sense of entitlement
Noun
a popular pastime among the upper classes
a member of the upper class
Recent Examples on the Web
Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
Salons were musical and intellectual and would have had performers and dancers and singers and actors, and that’s very different from (Alfredo’s) tight middle- and upper-class world.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 18 Oct. 2024
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
More than half of the community’s founding pioneers were women, most of whom were typical upper class, 19th-century wives and mothers.
—Marissa C. Rhodes / Made By History, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upper-class 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Adjective
Gigi, who wears A-line skirts and strappy, coral sandals, is the picture of upper-class island cosmopolitanism.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
Salons were musical and intellectual and would have had performers and dancers and singers and actors, and that’s very different from (Alfredo’s) tight middle- and upper-class world.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 18 Oct. 2024
Noun
Women like her provide a crucial point of connection between Gotham’s mainstream upper classes, and the tarnished wealth of organized crime.
—Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
More than half of the community’s founding pioneers were women, most of whom were typical upper class, 19th-century wives and mothers.
—Marissa C. Rhodes / Made By History, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upper-class
Dictionary Entries Near upper-class
Cite this Entry
“Upper-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upper-class. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share