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
Menudo is the ultimate peasant dish, made with the once undesired offal meat of a butchered animal.
—
Sarah Mosqueda, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024
The rural population shared equally bad experiences of the Reds and the Whites, as both sides in the war confiscated the peasants’ livestock and grain.
—Anna Reid, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Celebrities have been rocking floppy hats, peasant blouses, and statement jewelry for decades now.
—Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2024
After ‘So Long My Son,’ this is about workers and peasants in China.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Feb. 2024
Following various clues, Snow and Bao take the reader into the households of aristocrats and peasants, urban centers and rural villages.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
When the Jews in their area are accused of cursing their fellow peasants with the Black Death, Hanna summons a Golem to protect the village from its enemies.
—EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023
At Republic Day balls organized across small Anatolian towns only years after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the loss of its European provinces, Kemalist bureaucrats would dance to European tunes played by jazz bands, to the bewilderment of the attending Anatolian peasants.
—Soner Cagaptay, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024
Popularized again by Jim Lahey’s recipe, published in The New York Times in 2006, no-knead peasant breads, focaccias, and ciabattas have steadily risen to prominence, nudging fussier bakes aside.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 5 Feb. 2024
Sarah Mosqueda, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024
The rural population shared equally bad experiences of the Reds and the Whites, as both sides in the war confiscated the peasants’ livestock and grain.
—Anna Reid, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Celebrities have been rocking floppy hats, peasant blouses, and statement jewelry for decades now.
—Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2024
After ‘So Long My Son,’ this is about workers and peasants in China.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Feb. 2024
Following various clues, Snow and Bao take the reader into the households of aristocrats and peasants, urban centers and rural villages.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
When the Jews in their area are accused of cursing their fellow peasants with the Black Death, Hanna summons a Golem to protect the village from its enemies.
—EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023
At Republic Day balls organized across small Anatolian towns only years after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the loss of its European provinces, Kemalist bureaucrats would dance to European tunes played by jazz bands, to the bewilderment of the attending Anatolian peasants.
—Soner Cagaptay, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024
Popularized again by Jim Lahey’s recipe, published in The New York Times in 2006, no-knead peasant breads, focaccias, and ciabattas have steadily risen to prominence, nudging fussier bakes aside.
—Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 5 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'peasant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near peasant
Cite this Entry
“Peasant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peasant. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
peasant
noun
peas·ant
ˈpez-ᵊnt 
1
: a European small farmer or farm laborer
2
: a member of a similar agricultural class elsewhere
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