caste

UK: /ˈkɑːst/ US: /kæst/ ,(kast, käst)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

caste /kæst/   n. 

1. Eastern Religions [countable] any of the social divisions of Hindu society.
2. Sociology a social division limited to people of the same rank, occupation, etc., by birth:
   [countable] castes of rich and poor.
3. Sociology [uncountable] the rigid system of dividing or distinguishing among people in social groups in these ways.
4. Sociology [uncountable] social position conferred upon one by a caste system:
   to lose caste.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

caste  (kast, käst), n. 

1. Sociology
   • an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.
   • any rigid system of social distinctions.
2. Eastern Religions [Hinduism.] any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next;
   jati. Cf. class. (def. 13).
3. Physical Anthropology, Sociology any class or group of society sharing common cultural features:
   low caste; high caste.
4. Sociology social position conferred upon one by a caste system:
   to lose caste.
5. Insects [Entomol.] one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.

adj. 

6. Sociology of, pertaining to, or characterized by caste:
   a caste society;
   a caste system;
   a caste structure.

• Latin castus pure, chaste
• Portuguese casta race, breed, noun, nominal use of casta, feminine of casto
• 1545–55

caste′ism, n. 
caste′less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

caste / kɑːst/ noun

1. any of the four major hereditary classes, namely the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra into which Hindu society was traditionally divided
   See also Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya
2. Also called: caste system the system or basis of such classes
3. the social position or rank conferred by this system
4. any social class or system based on such distinctions as heredity, rank, wealth, profession, etc
5. the position conferred by such a system
6. any of various types of specialized individual, such as the worker, in social insects (hive bees, ants, etc)

Etymology: 16th Century: from Portuguese casta race, breed, ancestry, from casto pure, chaste, from Latin castus

ˈcasted adjective

ˈcasteism noun