Meaning & use
social climbing
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabledisapproving
Trying to move into a higher social class by making friends with rich or powerful people, often in an obvious way.
Grammar: Used without an article: social climbing can look desperate.
Patterns
- accuse someone of social climbing
- guilty of social climbing
Her constant name-dropping looked like social climbing.
The novel mocks the social climbing of the town's new rich.
He denied that he went to the gala out of social climbing.
Common combinations
- shameless social climbing
- The party was full of shameless social climbing.
- accused of social climbing
- She was accused of social climbing after befriending the mayor.
- a bit of social climbing
- A bit of social climbing helped him get the job.
- guilty of social climbing
- Several characters are guilty of social climbing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- status-seeking
- Describes the desire for rank in general, while social climbing means actively using people to rise.
- networking
- Is usually neutral or positive and about useful contacts, not about class.
- upward mobility
- A neutral term for rising in class, often through work, not through flattery.
Opposites
Word family
- social climber noun
- a person who seeks higher status
- climb verb
- to go up
- social adjective
- relating to society
- climbing noun
- the act of going up
Commonly confused: social climbing or rock climbing?
social climbing vs rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport on cliffs, while social climbing is a figurative way to move up in society.
Practice
People said he was guilty of ___ because he only befriended wealthy donors.
Choose one answer.
Social climbing is seeking friends for status. The other options are physical activities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “social climbing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.