1
: involving allies or confederates
- the Social War between the Athenians and their allies
2 a
: marked by or passed in pleasant companionship with friends or associates
- an active social life
b
: sociable
c
: of, relating to, or designed for sociability
- a social club
3
: of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society
- social institutions
4 a
: tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others
- Infants can become social beings only through interaction with others.
- —Gerald R. Leslie and Sheila K. Korman
b
: living and breeding in more or less organized communities especially for the purposes of cooperation and mutual benefit : not solitary
- Of the canid family, the wolf is one of the most social species, since it is a pack hunter.
- —Michael W. Fox
- The evolutionary theory of kin selection requires that social animals recognize their relatives so that altruistic behavior can be displayed preferentially toward kin.
- —Science
c
of a plant
: tending to grow in groups or masses so as to form a pure stand
5 a
: of, relating to, or based on rank or status in a particular society
- a member of our social set
b
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the upper classes
c
: formal
6
: being such in social situations
- a social drinker
