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social studies

plural noun

: a part of a school or college curriculum concerned with the study of social relationships and the functioning of society and usually made up of courses in history, government, economics, civics, sociology, geography, and anthropology

Examples of social studies in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Louise Dubé, the CEO of iCivics, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on civic education, says that civics is not just government or history or social studies, but a bit of all three. Sequoia Carrillo, NPR, 23 Nov. 2025 Last year’s winner was Imani Riley-Jones, a social studies teacher at Northeast High School. Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 21 Nov. 2025 Carmen Northwest students performed close to MPS averages in science and social studies. Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025 Adopted this year, the state’s new social studies standards provide even more specifics about what should be taught. Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for social studies

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of social studies was in 1853

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Cite this Entry

“Social studies.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20studies. Accessed 5 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

social studies

plural noun
: the studies dealing with human relationships and the way society works (as history, civics, economics, and geography)
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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