proletariat: Meaning and Definition of

pro•le•tar•i•at

1. the class of wage earners, esp. those who earn their living by manual labor or who are dependent for support on daily or casual employment; the working class.
2. (in Marxist theory) the class of workers, esp. industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to survive.
3. the lowest or poorest class of people, possessing no property, esp. in ancient Rome.