Plebe
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A plebeian, a member of the lower class of Roman citizens. historical, plural-normally
"Another the like was among the Romanes of Patricij & plebes, thone ſtriuing with thother a long time, the patricij many yeares excluding the plebes from bearing rule, vntill at laſt all magiſtrates were made cõmon [common] betweene thẽ [them]: […]"
- 2 a military trainee (as at a military academy) wordnet
- 3 The plebs, the plebeian class. historical, obsolete
"All other roomes were free for the plebe or multitude."
- 4 The similar lower class of any area. obsolete
- 5 A freshman cadet at a military academy. US, slang
"My drill master, a young stripling, told me I was not so ‘gross’ as most other pleibs, the name of all new cadets."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Another the like was among the Romanes of Patricij & plebes, thone ſtriuing with thother a long time, the patricij many yeares excluding the plebes from bearing rule, vntill at laſt all magiſtrates were made cõmon [common] betweene thẽ [them]: […]"
Etymology
From Latin plēbs (“the plebeian class”), probably via Middle French plebe (“plebeians, commoners, the rabble”) and possibly later understood as a clipping of plebeian. Cognate with Italian plebe, Spanish plebe, Portuguese plebe.
Related phrases
More for "plebe"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.