class
Definitions
A group of students taught together, or a single lesson they attend.
班级；一节课。
A division of society based on wealth or status; social rank.
社会阶级；阶层。
A group of people or things sharing common characteristics; a category (including a biological rank).
种类；类别；（生物分类的）纲。
Stylish quality or excellence.
格调；优雅；高水准。
To regard or place in a particular category; to classify.
把……归类；视为某一类。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedStraight from Latin classis, a property-based 'rank' of Roman citizens. That one idea — a sorted, ranked group — spreads into every sense: a school class (students grouped by year, then the lesson itself), a social class (a tier of society), a category or biological class (things grouped by shared traits), and 'class' meaning quality (because the top Roman rank was the best one).
Root class still carries 7 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.working class工人阶级
- 2.middle class中产阶级
- 3.first class头等
- 4.class of students一班学生
- 5.world-class世界级的
Example Sentences
- 1.
I have an English class at three o'clock this afternoon.
- 2.
She comes from a working-class family in the north.
- 3.
Whales belong to the class of mammals, not fish.
- 4.
The way he handled the criticism showed real class.
- 5.
Critics class the film as a modern masterpiece.
Easily Confused
class vs grade — In school contexts, a class is the group of students or a single lesson ('my English class'), while a grade is a year level or a mark/score ('she's in third grade,' 'I got a good grade'). British 'class' (Year 5 class) overlaps with American 'grade.' If it's a score or year-number, use grade.