Definition of "ruling class" []

• The class of people exerting power or authority (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Entrenched a ruling class which is distinguished by neither talent, culture, nor wit; kept alive for one more generation the distinctions of a dead age. '"
• "The ruling class that had giventone to its society had practically disappeared; and the others, entirely unaccustomed to lead, were existing in a state of apparent bewilderment."
• "She felt almost upper class; and at the same time a resentment against the ruling class smouldered in her."