elites
- 1Plural of elite.
Political elites gathered behind closed doors to shape the new policy.
The reforms threatened the privileges of the old landed elites.
Note
This plural does two jobs, because the singular names both a privileged group and a member of it. So elites can mean several distinct groups, such as economic elites, cultural elites or the old landed elites, or simply many privileged individuals. It usually takes a modifier naming where the advantage lies. The singular with the article, the elite, already stands for the whole class at once.
elites is a form of elite
elite, noun: A social group or class whose members hold superior wealth, power, or privilege in society; also one member of that group. Full entry
- Forms
- eliteelites plural
- Spelling
- elite → elites: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /s/.
Use it in a sentence
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