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

The department of social services also respond to the scene and took the 3-year-old boy for medical evaluation, according to Bizzell. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025

Student service struggles Staying on a four-day schedule long-term would continue to have a disproportionate impact on families who rely on ISD schools for meals, social services and other resources, Young said. —Ilana Arougheti updated October 30, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2025

The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. —Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025

The austere budgets could bring cuts in social services, staff reductions and consolidation of programs for local nonprofits, Brown Grosvenor said. —Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus