- chiefly a member of a class of low social status that depends on either cottage industry or agricultural labour as a means of subsistence
- informal derogatory a person who lives in the country; rustic
- informal derogatory an uncouth or uncultured person
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
peas•ant /ˈpɛzənt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a member of a class of small farmers of low social rank, as in Europe:tried to unify the workers and peasants.
- an uneducated person lacking in good manners.
adj. [before a noun]
- of or relating to peasants.
peas•ant
(pez′ənt),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
peas′ant•like′, adj.
- a member of a class of persons, as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank.
- a coarse, unsophisticated, boorish, uneducated person of little financial means.
adj.
- of, pertaining to, or characteristic of peasants or their traditions, way of life, crafts, etc.
- Clothingof or designating a style of clothing modeled on the folk costumes of Western cultures, esp. women's full-sleeved, round-necked blouses and long, full skirts.
- Gmc (see -ing3)
- Late Latin pāgēnsis, equivalent. to Latin pāg(us) country district + -ēnsis -ensis) + -enc
- Anglo-French paisant, Old French païsant, earlier païsenc, equivalent. to païs country (
- late Middle English paissaunt 1375–1425
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
peasant /ˈpɛzənt/ n
'peasant' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
babushka
- bachelor
- Bernadette of Lourdes
- Brueghel
- cotter
- Deledda
- dirndl
- fellah
- frock
- gopak
- hind
- jacket
- Jordaens
- kern
- Lourdes
- major
- muzhik
- peon
- simple
- spring
- tarantella
- Till Eulenspiegel
- Vendée
- villein
- baba
- Barbizon School
- Baucis
- bodice
- Boer
- boor
- boorish
- Breughel
- campesino
- cholo
- churl
- clown
- countryman
- disguise
- guajira
- ignoble
- jack
- Jacquerie
- kisan
- kulak
- mir
- pagan
- paisano
- paletot
- peasant proprietor
- peasantry