social service

noun

plural social services

: a program or effort designed to promote human or societal well-being

specifically : organized help for people who are in need of assistance with basic needs (such as food, housing, safety, or job training) or with medical needs (such as addiction or mental illness)

—usually plural

Most states are struggling with skimpy resources and a system of uncoordinated social services that is totally inadequate to serve a population of individuals whose needs are bottomless.

—Constance Holden

… attacked the idea of social services, claiming that the only entity entitled to provide care is the church, not the government.

—Tori Otten

—often used before another noun

social service agencies

Until the bridge's closure, the island hosted and supported social service programs including homeless shelters and an addiction recovery campus.

—Ellie Wolfe

Examples of social service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At stake were $3 trillion in federal grants that finance countless social services nationwide, including half of the Homeless Trust’s annual budget. —Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025

Enhancing coordination between city departments, social service agencies, healthcare providers, and community organizations to create seamless pathways from street to stable housing. 4. —Courier-News, Chicago Tribune, 20 Mar. 2025

Critics of Connecticut’s budget controls say the system, largely enacted in 2017, is too aggressive, amassing huge surpluses to build reserves and lower pension debt at the expense of education, health care, social services, town aid and other core programs. —Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 19 Mar. 2025

The sectors with the lowest shares were office work (17%), social services (18%) and warehouses (18%). —Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus