1
: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity
must look out for your own welfare
2
a
: aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need
b
: an agency or program through which such aid is distributed
1
: of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups
welfare legislation
2
: receiving public welfare benefits
welfare families
Examples of welfare in a Sentence
Noun
He wants to do away with welfare.
I have your welfare at heart.
The welfare of all the orphans was at stake.
She donates to organizations concerned about animal welfare.
Recent Examples on the Web
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
Lucas County Sheriff's Office online records show that all three individuals were hit with multiple felony charges of endangering the welfare of children.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for welfare
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
In a corner Reluctance to cut welfare spending and raise taxes, while promising big-ticket spending on the NHS, defense, infrastructure and education, means that Labour has boxed itself into a corner, Peel Hunt's Chief Economist Kallum Pickering told CNBC.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
Lucas County Sheriff's Office online records show that all three individuals were hit with multiple felony charges of endangering the welfare of children.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Moderate Democrats fear pro-welfare and anti-business labels.
—John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for welfare
Cite this Entry
“Welfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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