social contract

noun

: an actual or hypothetical agreement among the members of an organized society or between a community and its ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each

Examples of social contract in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The impact of these social contracts is reflected in everything Israel has done and endured collectively since October 7. —Micha Danzig, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025

Israel’s establishment created several vital social contracts with its citizens. —Micha Danzig, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2025

This kind of data is typically extracted from an individual’s activities as a part of a known or unknown social contract. —James Felton Keith, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Such shifts would help establish what is in effect a new social contract, bringing together communities, public institutions, workers, and providers of financial and intellectual capital. —Mariana Mazzucato, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social contract

• overreact
• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked
• impact

Legal Definition

social contract

noun

so·​cial contract

: an actual or hypothetical agreement among individuals forming an organized society or between the community and the ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each