social climbing

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Showing an early aptitude for social climbing, Clarence Lapowski changed his name to Dillon days before entering college.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Meanwhile, MacKeith’s script takes a page from Patricia Highsmith when it comes to character dynamics and matters of social climbing .

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2023

Then began a career in art and social climbing.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2021

He would just as fervently applaud a character like David Copperfield for making his way up in the world as condemn Uriah Heep for social climbing.

From The Guardian • Jun. 23, 2020

The rest were there to participate in the great melodrama of social climbing and career advancement.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman