INDEX:
in school/college
1. a group of students in a school, college etc
2. the period of time during which a class is taught
3. a series of lessons in one subject
class in society
4. someone’s social class
5. belonging to the highest class
6. the middle class
7. the lowest class
8. to move into a higher social class
9. someone who thinks they are better than people from a lower social class
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ TEACH
↑ LEARN
↑ STUDY
↑ SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY
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1. a group of students in a school, college etc
▷ class /klɑːsǁklæs/ [countable noun]
a group of students or schoolchildren who are taught together :
▪ There are twenty kids in the class.
▪ She gets along well with the other children in her class.
▪ I’m going out with some friends from my dance class.
▪ I graduated in 1999. What class were you in?
▷ grade /greɪd/ [countable noun]
a class or group of classes for children of a particular age in an American school :
third/seventh/twelfth etc grade
▪ She’s in the fifth grade.
▪ I really liked my eighth grade math teacher.
▪ The second grade class is doing a play about the Pilgrims.
third-/fourth-/fifth- etc grader /ˌθɜːʳd ˈgreɪdəʳ/ [countable noun]
a child in the third, fourth, fifth etc grade :
▪ According to the test, 40% of fourth-graders are not reading at the basic level.
▷ form /fɔːʳm/ [countable noun]
a class or a group of classes for all the children of the same age in a British school for children between 11 and 18 :
▪ She’s by far the brightest pupil in the form.
third/fourth/fifth etc form
▪ I’m in the third form.
▪ Mrs Davies took the fifth form to the science museum.
third-/fourth-/fifth- etc former /ˈθɜːʳd ˌfɒːʳməʳ/ [countable noun]
a child in the third, fourth, fifth etc form :
▪ Some of the fifth-formers have started a rock band.
▷ year /jɪəʳ, jɜːʳǁjɪər/ [countable noun]
all the classes for children of a particular age in a British school or for students in a particular year of study at a British university :
▪ He works a lot harder than most of the students in his year.
third/fourth/fifth etc year
▪ There are 130 children in the second year.
▪ I hated teaching the fifth year. They were always causing trouble.
third-/fourth-/fifth- etc year /ˈθɜːʳd jɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
a student in the third, fourth, fifth etc year :
▪ A group of fourth-years are collecting money for food aid to Africa.
▷ set /set/ [countable noun]
a class for children with a particular level of ability in a British school :
▪ She’s in set one for maths and English and set two for history.
▪ I was useless at school -- always in the bottom set in every subject.
▪ We think you’ve improved sufficiently to go up to a higher set.
▷ freshman /ˈfreʃmən/ [countable noun] American
someone who is in the first year at a high school or university :
▪ We were only freshmen, so the older kids liked to pick on us.
freshman class/year/course etc
▪ Chris remembers his freshman year at UCLA as if it were yesterday.
▷ sophomore /ˈsɒfəmɔːʳǁˈsɑː-/ [countable noun] American
someone who is in the second year at a high school or university :
▪ This class is mainly for freshmen and sophomores.
sophomore class/year etc
▪ George dropped out of college his sophomore year.
▷ junior /ˈdʒuːniəʳ/ [countable noun] American
someone who is in the third year at a high school or university :
▪ a junior at NYU
junior class/year etc
▪ Donna spent spring semester of her junior year in Paris.
▷ senior /ˈsiːniəʳ/ [countable noun] American
someone who is in the fourth and final year at a high school or university :
▪ I can’t believe that Cari is a high school senior already.
senior class/year etc
▪ The entire senior class took a trip to Disneyworld.
2. the period of time during which a class is taught
▷ class /klɑːsǁklæs/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a period of time, usually about 30 minutes to one hour, in which a teacher teaches a group of students :
▪ Heidi fainted during French class today!
▪ Let’s go - I have my first class in 10 minutes!
▷ lesson /ˈles ə n/ [countable noun]
a period in which someone teaches one person or a group of people - use this especially about practical skills such as music, swimming, or driving, or in British English about a class in a school :
▪ Dominic will be having his first driving lesson this Thursday.
▪ She gives English lessons to business people in the evenings.
▷ period /ˈpɪ ə riəd/ [countable noun]
one of the periods of time that a school day is divided into :
▪ At our school we have four periods in the morning and three in the afternoon.
double period
British one class which lasts for two periods
▪ On Monday mornings there was French, English, and then a double period of maths.
▷ session /ˈseʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
the period of time in which a particular subject or a particular area of a subject is taught, especially when this is one of a fixed number of classes :
▪ We have 5 hours of English a week, including one session in the language laboratory.
▷ lecture /ˈlektʃəʳ/ [countable noun]
a long talk on a subject, given by a teacher at a college or university, and listened to by a large number of students :
lecture on
▪ a lecture on the causes of the Russian Revolution
give a lecture
▪ Professor Blair is giving a series of lectures on Einstein’s theories.
▷ seminar /ˈsemɪnɑːʳ, ˈsemənɑːʳ/ [countable noun]
a class, usually at a college or university, where a teacher and small group of students discuss a subject :
seminar on
▪ Every week we have a seminar on modern political theory.
▷ tutorial /tjuːˈtɔːriəlǁtuː-/ [countable noun]
a regular class at a British college or university during which a teacher discusses a particular subject with one student or with a small group of students :
▪ Small group tutorials are used to discuss problems which come up in lectures.
▪ Oxford’s one-to-one tutorials are an effective but also costly way of teaching.
3. a series of lessons in one subject
▷ course /kɔːʳs/ also class /klɑːs‖klæs/ [countable noun]
▪ Are you enjoying the course?
course in/on
▪ a course in music journalism
language/computer/history etc course/class
▪ The college is offering three basic computer courses this year.
take a course/class also do a course
British informal
▪ She’s taking a class in art history.
4. someone’s social class
▷ class /klɑːsǁklæs/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the social group that you belong to because of your job, the type of family you come from, or the amount of money you have :
▪ Success in this country seems to be based on class rather than on ability.
▪ the professional and managerial classes
the class system
the system by which society is divided into classes
▪ The old class system is slowly disappearing.
social class
the class in society you come from
▪ There is a clear link between social class and educational achievement.
class distinctions
differences between social classes
▪ Some people argue that class distinctions do not exist in the U.S., but this is untrue.
▷ background /ˈbækgraʊnd/ [countable noun]
the type of home and family you come from, and its social class :
▪ The school takes kids from all sorts of backgrounds.
▪ We come from the same town and share a similar background.
working-class/middle-class etc background
▪ The organization helps children from working-class backgrounds to go to university.
▷ status /ˈsteɪtəsǁˈsteɪtəs, ˈstæ-/ [uncountable noun]
someone’s position in society, according to how much other people respect them, especially because of the kind of job they have :
▪ Now that he was a bank manager, he wanted a car that would reflect his status.
high/low status
▪ Many mothers feel that they have very low status in today’s society.
status symbol
something that someone owns in order to show their high status
▪ The latest mobile phones have become status symbols among teenagers.
▷ caste /kɑːstǁkæst/ [countable noun]
a fixed division of people in society according to the family they are born into, especially within the Hindu religion :
▪ In the south of India there are up to 20 different castes.
caste system
▪ Buddha was a social reformer who condemned India’s caste system.
5. belonging to the highest class
▷ upper-class /ˌʌpəʳ ˈklɑːs◂ǁ-ˈklæs◂/ [adjective]
belonging to the class of people who originally had most of the money and power, especially families that own a lot of land :
▪ Most senior politicians in the UK are from upper-class families.
▪ He spoke with an upper-class accent.
the upper class/the upper classes [singular or plural noun]
people who are upper class: :
▪ In South America, the upper classes tend to be of European origin.
▷ aristocracy /ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsi, ˌærəˈstɒkrəsiǁ-ˈstɑː-/ [singular noun]
the people who belong to families that own a lot of land, and used to have a lot of power, and have special titles before their names, like ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ - used especially when you are talking about the past :
the aristocracy
▪ Daughters of rich merchants would often marry into the aristocracy.
aristocratic /ˌærɪstəˈkrætɪk◂, əˌrɪ-ǁəˌrɪ-/ [adjective]
▪ old aristocratic families
▷ privileged /ˈprɪvɪlɪdʒd, ˈprɪvəlɪdʒd/ [adjective]
having a high position in society that has special, and usually unfair, advantages such as power, money and the best education :
▪ In many countries today only a privileged minority get the chance of going to university.
privilege [uncountable noun]
▪ Her comments about immigrants revealed an astonishing sense of privilege and arrogance.
▷ elite /eɪˈliːt, ɪ-/ [countable noun with singular or plural verb in British English]
a small group of rich and powerful people who have special, unfair advantages that other people do not have :
▪ The President has been accused of developing policies in favor of a small elite.
▪ The sort of goods once reserved for the elite are now available to everyone.
elitist [adjective]
▪ The British House of Lords is seen by many as an elitist institution.
▷ posh /pɒʃǁpɑːʃ/ [adjective] British spoken
use this about someone who behaves and speaks in a way in which upper-class people usually behave or speak :
▪ Will your posh university friends be coming tonight?
posh school/hotel/restaurant etc
one that is very expensive, that rich people go to
▪ She went to a posh girls’ school in Switzerland.
6. the middle class
▷ middle-class /ˌmɪdl ˈklɑːs◂ǁ-ˈklæs◂/ [adjective]
belonging to the class of people who are usually well educated, fairly rich, and who work in jobs which they have trained to do. For example, doctors, lawyers, and managers are middle-class :
▪ The newspaper’s readers are mostly middle class.
▪ They live in a middle-class neighbourhood on the edge of town.
the middle class/the middle classes [singular or plural noun]
people who are middle class: :
▪ The government needs the support of the middle classes to win the next election.
▷ bourgeois /ˈbʊəʒwɑːǁbʊərˈʒwɑː/ [adjective]
typical of richer middle-class people and their attitudes or way of life, especially their concern with money, property, and correct social behaviour :
▪ She rejected her parents’ conventional bourgeois lifestyle.
▪ They never married because they believed that marriage was a bourgeois institution.
▷ the bourgeoisie /ðə ˌbʊəʳʒwɑːˈziː/ []
the class that owns most of the wealth, property, and industry - use this especially when you are talking about politics or history :
▪ The poor viewed with envy the increasing wealth of the bourgeoisie.
▪ A revolution would be a threat to the nation’s bourgeoisie.
▷ white-collar /ˌwaɪt ˈkɒləʳ◂ǁ-ˈkɑː-/ [adjective only before noun]
white-collar worker/job/employee
someone who works in an office, not a factory, mine etc :
▪ The economic recession has put many white-collar workers in danger of losing their jobs.
7. the lowest class
▷ working-class /ˌwɜːʳkɪŋ ˈklɑːs◂ǁ-ˈklæs◂/ [adjective]
belonging to the class of people who do not have much money or power, and who have jobs where they do physical work. For example, factory workers, builders, and drivers are working-class :
▪ Most of the people who live round here are working class.
▪ I come from a working-class family - I’m the first one to graduate from college.
the working class/the working classes [singular or plural noun]
people who are working class: :
▪ Cuts in welfare spending affect the working class most.
▷ lower-class /ˌləʊəʳ ˈklɑːs◂ǁ-ˈklæs◂/ [adjective]
an impolite word meaning belonging to the class that has less money, power, and education than anyone else :
▪ It has been shown that children of lower-class parents are less likely to do well at school.
▪ My mother’s parents thought my father was terribly lower-class.
the lower class/the lower classes [singular or plural noun]
▪ There was a time when tequila was a cheap product drunk only by the lower classes.
▷ the masses /ðə ˈmæsə̇z/ [plural noun]
all the ordinary people in society who do not have power or influence, especially when they are thought of as not being very educated :
▪ Television has brought cheap entertainment to the masses.
▪ Lenin’s position depended on the support of the masses.
▷ blue-collar /ˌbluː ˈkɒləʳ◂ǁ-ˈkɑː-/ [adjective only before noun]
blue-collar worker/job/employee
someone who does physical work, for example in a factory or a mine, and does not work in an office :
▪ His political support comes mainly from blue-collar workers.
▷ humble /ˈhʌmb ə l/ [adjective]
of (a) humble background/family/origins etc
from a low social class and without much money, but often with a lot of determination to work hard and succeed :
▪ The school had originally provided a good education for children of humble backgrounds.
▪ Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford were all men of humble origins and no inherited wealth.
▷ underclass /ˈʌndəʳklɑːsǁ-klæs/ [singular noun]
the lowest social class, who are very poor and may not have jobs, homes etc :
▪ The government has created an underclass who do not feel they have any rights in society.
8. to move into a higher social class
▷ move/go up in the world /ˌmuːv, ˌgəʊ ˈʌp ɪn ðə ˌwɜːʳld/ [verb phrase]
▪ Hillary was bright and ambitious and wanted to move up in the world.
▪ Education, he believed, was the only way that anyone could move up in the world.
▷ upwardly mobile /ˌʌpwəʳdli ˈməʊbaɪlǁ-ˈməʊb ə l/ [adjective phrase]
someone who is upwardly mobile is in the process of moving into a higher class, especially because they have a well-paid job :
▪ a highly educated, upwardly mobile young woman
▪ The dating agency specializes in finding partners for the young and upwardly mobile.
▷ social climber /ˌsəʊʃ ə l ˈklaɪməʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who wants very much to move into a higher social class, and tries to do this by becoming friendly with people who have more money and power than they do :
▪ The new private schools cater for the children of social climbers rather than those of the old upper classes.
▪ The hotel lobby was full of the usual hangers-on and social climbers.
9. someone who thinks they are better than people from a lower social class
▷ snobbish /ˈsnɒbɪʃǁˈsnɑːb-/ [adjective]
someone who is snobbish thinks that they are better than people from a lower social class :
▪ Snobbish home-owners are protesting about a refugee family moving into their street.
▪ Aunt Harriet was very rich and very snobbish.
▷ snob /snɒbǁsnɑːb/ [countable noun]
someone who thinks that they are better than people from a lower social class, and does not want to talk to them or be friends with them :
▪ My mother was such a snob she wouldn’t let me play with the local children.
▪ They’re just a bunch of snobs - you wouldn’t want to be friends with them anyway.
▷ stuck-up /ˌstʌk ˈʌp/ [adjective] informal
proud and unfriendly because you think you are better and more important than other people :
▪ Tanya is so stuck-up. She won’t go out with anyone who went to a state college.
▪ the spoiled, stuck-up daughter of a millionaire