Definition of "lower class"

lower class

noun
plural lower classes
1. A class of people in a society characterized by low incomes, low level of education, high unemployment and, as a result of these, a low social status.
  Quotations
  The only language of the lower class is pidgin-English—quite incomprehensible to the newcomer from Great Britain, —but a large proportion of the inhabitants are highly educated men who excel as lawyers, clergymen, clerks and traders.
  1911, “Freetown”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica