caste

noun

KAST/kæst/UKKAHST/kɑːst/

Pluralcastes

4 meanings of caste

1
nouncountable
A social group that people are born into and usually cannot leave, common in South Asia.
Like being born onto a team you can never switch away from.
In many villages, your caste decided which jobs you could do.
She married someone from a different caste, which upset her family.
Similarclass
Note
2
nouncountable
A fixed group of people in society who mostly stay among themselves.
Like a club where the members only ever talk to each other.
The town's wealthy families formed a caste of their own.
He felt locked out of the ruling caste at his school.
Similarclique, class, elite, set
Note
3
noununcountable
The way a society is split into fixed groups that people are born into.
Caste shaped almost every part of daily life in the old order.
In many countries, it is against the law to treat people unfairly because of caste.
Note
4
nouncountable
A group of insects in a colony that all have the same size and job, like worker ants.
Like different workers in a factory, where each kind has its own job.
In a bee colony, the worker caste does most of the daily tasks.
Soldier ants belong to a caste built for fighting.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It came from Portuguese or Spanish casta, meaning "lineage" or "breed." Its earlier origin is uncertain.