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
The Gospel authors, far from being community leaders preserving oral sayings for largely illiterate followers, were highly literate members of a small, erudite upper crust, distant in experience, attitude, and geography from any Galilean peasant preachers.
—
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Set in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal, where Mateus was raised, a peasant community of grape-pickers become agents in an open-air ritual of remembrance and rebellion.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025
By March 1525, the peasant armies had grown to encompass tens of thousands of peasants from Alsace to Austria and from Switzerland to Saxony.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
Luther’s rejection of the peasants had important long-term consequences.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for peasant
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Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
Set in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal, where Mateus was raised, a peasant community of grape-pickers become agents in an open-air ritual of remembrance and rebellion.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025
By March 1525, the peasant armies had grown to encompass tens of thousands of peasants from Alsace to Austria and from Switzerland to Saxony.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
Luther’s rejection of the peasants had important long-term consequences.
—Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for peasant
Cite this Entry
“Peasant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peasant. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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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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