plebe

noun

ˈplēb 

1

: a freshman at a military or naval academy

He also struggled to march in step and stumbled through … a morning ritual in which plebes are forced to stand at full attention and recite an endless stream of information …

—Jonathan Mahler

2

a

: one of the common people : plebeian

Once a proud and high-minded group, the new class could look up at the rich with a certain contempt and down at the plebes with compassion …

—Barbara Ehrenreich

b

: an ordinary person who lacks the knowledge of an insider

These guys may look like plebes, but they're veteran hackers.

—Davin Coburn

The movie has its origins in Dave Stevens' 1982 graphic novel (comic book to us plebes), a knowing, exquisitely drawn valentine to aviation aces and 1930s Los Angeles.

—Ty Burr

Examples of plebe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite their mothers’ advice to the contrary, the plebes in the Grading The Week offices really do read your letters and emails. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2024

In the summer, incoming freshmen, or plebes, begin a rigorous training camp (known as Plebe Summer) that turns civilians into midshipmen. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 25 July 2023

Females now comprise 20 percent of plebes entering the Academy. —Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2023

Tech billionaires might be trying to create a world where the plebes — with their pesky demands for secure working conditions and a living wage — will be replaced by indefatigable robots that don’t have to eat anything at all (let alone a tray of juicy steaks). —Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

(sense 1) probably short for plebeian entry 1; (sense 2) short for plebeian entry 1, or perhaps by construing Latin plēbs, earlier plēbēs "the general body of citizens in ancient Rome, the common people" as a plural noun — more at plebs

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1