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

There is no social contract for the same group of people to have dinner again, though that does not mean it cannot be easily scheduled should everyone want a repeat. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2025

Hezbollah’s social contract with the community—the former provides the latter with security, political empowerment, and services and the latter provides the former with recruits and votes—has been on shaky ground for over a decade. —Hanin Ghaddar, Foreign Affairs, 4 Feb. 2025

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

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