<p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>Sociology.</li><li>an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups.</li><li>any rigid system of social distinctions.</li><li>Hinduism.</li><li>any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next; jati.</li><li>Compare class (def 13).</li><li>any class or group of society sharing common cultural features: low caste; high caste.</li><li>social position conferred upon one by a caste system: to lose caste.</li><li>Entomology.</li><li>one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier.</li></ul><p><strong>adjective</strong></p><ul><li>of, relating to, or characterized by caste: a caste society; a caste system; a caste structure.</li></ul>