Definition of stratumnext
1
as in class
one of the segments of society into which people are grouped the lower strata of society have been hit especially hard by this economic downturn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in level
the placement of someone or something in relation to others in a vertical arrangement the level of writing in that pop novel is several strata beneath that of serious fiction

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stratum Four men hijack a subway and demand a million-dollar ransom, setting off a chain of events that touches every stratum of city life. — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 That stratum consisted mostly of bankers—guys in their 20s and 30s who spent their days moving money around and their nights trying to pretend that the rest of their lives weren’t preordained. — Jimmy Jellinek, SPIN, 28 Apr. 2026 The exhibition begins by presenting three different layers, which are sort of presented as a stratum. — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026 The taco features a stratum of smoke and heat, with the octopus piled onto a fresh corn tortilla with purple onions pickled Yucatan-style with citrus. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stratum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stratum
Noun
  • The hostilities began as a month-long student movement over school conditions and teacher shortages in working-class suburbs before broadening into a larger protest movement against inequality, public spending cuts and the rising cost of living.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • But, even then, American socialists walked a fine line—they were considered too radical for the mainstream and a mere bourgeois affectation by committed class revolutionaries.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • At the end of September, leaders of several of the biggest AI companies went to the White House and signed an accord committing to internal risk controls, independent audits and board-level oversight of safety.
    — Giorgos Tsetis, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • But the posting of the media list signaled, at least on an organizational level, the trip was going ahead.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • India’s Shashank Walia earlier won the New Currents Award for Birds in the Dark, a black-and-white Punjabi-language drama exploring caste, labor and love in rural Punjab.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The nonprofit has championed South Asian voices in film, art and storytelling since 2002, giving a platform to work on subjects such as caste, gender and sexuality.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The story picks up when 14-year-old Maeve and her older sister, Reg, start a secret phone romance with a boy from the local boat club who promises a way into the upper echelons of Cape Cod society.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to being the only cross-company pair in the top Skydance executive echelon, Cheeks and Perrette share another distinction — Cheeks is the only former Paramount Global and Perrette the only former Discovery executive in the group.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Maintaining command-and-control links matters when troops rely on aerial sensors to gather information beyond their immediate positions.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Also, the fact that planets in this arrangement slide along their orbit and swap positions means that their positions in that orbit change, which, in turn, changes the timing of the transits.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Teams carry over 50 players, and only two or three from most teams will advance to the professional ranks.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The president has essentially purged the House GOP ranks of those perceived to be disloyal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • In the overall teen ranking for spring ’25 and Fall ’25 and ’26 surveys, On maintained its seventh place ranking.
    — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Some companies may have paid an application fee in order to be considered, but this payment does not impact a company's inclusion or ranking.
    — Time, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Pierce and Kember were born in the same place on the same day, a lore-enhancing coincidence too stupid to make up.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
  • This tiny place lies 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle, beside Torneträsk, a 43-mile-long lake.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 18 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stratum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stratum. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on stratum

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!