Table of Contents
Definition of Power Elite
(noun) A small group of influential and wealthy people that control a disproportionate amount of power and resources.
Etymology of Power Elite
- Coined by C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) in Power Elite (1956). Used to refer to the ruling elite of the United States at the time of publication.
Power Elite Pronunciation
Syllabification: pow·er e·lite
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /pOU-uhr i-lEEt/
- British English – /pOU-uh i-lEEt/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈpaʊər ɪˈlit/
- British English – /ˈpaʊər eɪˈliːt/
Usage Note
- Plural: power elites
Related Videos
Additional Information
- Word origin of “power” and “elite” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Dye, Thomas R. 2002. Who’s Running America? The Bush Restoration. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Mills, C. Wright. 1956. The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
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Cite the Definition of Power Elite
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “power elite.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/power-elite/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
power elite. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/power-elite/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “power elite.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/power-elite/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“power elite.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/power-elite/>.