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popular culture

Definition of Popular Culture

(noun) Widely accessible and commonly shared aspects of culture (e.g., books, movies, TV shows) consumed by all classes (the masses), but typically associated with lower and middle classes.

Popular Culture Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: pop·u·lar cul·ture

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /pAHp-yuh-luhr kUHl-chuhr/
  • British English – /pOp-yu-luh kUHl-chuh/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈpɑpjələr ˈkʌlʧər/
  • British English – /ˈpɒpjʊlə ˈkʌlʧə/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: popular cultures
  • Popular culture is not always low culture.
  • A type of culture.
  • Variant spellings:
    • popular-culture
    • pop culture (pop-culture).
  • Also called mass culture.

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Additional Information

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Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Popular Culture

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “popular culture.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/popular-culture/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

popular culture. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/popular-culture/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “popular culture.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/popular-culture/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“popular culture.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/popular-culture/>.