social distancing

noun

medical

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (such as six feet or more) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection : physical distancing

San Francisco issued recommendations for social distancing on Friday, advising residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid congregating in large groups.

—Taryn Luna and Melody Gutierrez

Under a new "social distancing" strategy, handshaking could be discouraged, with other, less tactile forms of greeting taking its place.

—Rosa Silverman

The term social distancing may be foreign to some, but the concept is one often practiced during the flu season, said Dora Anne Mills, the state's former top health official and currently chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth.

—Gillian Graham

Examples of social distancing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Volunteers bring groceries to families’ homes and follow social distancing and contactless delivery recommendations, Jackson said. —Francine Knowles, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2025

Experts believed that drug use would resurge once social distancing restrictions were lifted, per Richard Miech, principal investigator of the study. —April Rubin, Axios, 30 Dec. 2024

For example, some of the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic—such as mask-wearing and social distancing—slowed down the flu spread during those years. —Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 23 Dec. 2024

Health experts worry as Meta rolls back some COVID misinformation policies A report from the U.S. Surgeon General in 2021 found that misinformation led to people rejecting masking and social distancing, using unproven treatment and rejecting COVID-19 vaccines. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

social distancing

noun

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (as six feet) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease