How to pronounce caste

Noun

• social status or position conferred by a system based on class

  “lose caste by doing work beneath one's station”

• (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity

• a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth

• in some social insects (such as ants) a physically distinct individual or group of individuals specialized to perform certain functions in the colony