social engineering

noun

1

: management of human beings in accordance with their place and function in society : applied social science

2

: social methods (such as phishing) that are used to obtain personal or confidential information which can then be used illicitly

The previously noted trend of switching from social engineering to hacking methods in attacks on organizations strengthened …

—San Fernando Valley (California) Business Journal

social engineer noun

plural social engineers

Examples of social engineering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Remember, enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible; even that may not have been enough in this case, since social engineering was the real attack vector here. —Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 6 Mar. 2026

So far, the most common use of AI for hacking has been social engineering. —Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026

An offshoot of the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025, launched Project Netflix, designed to scuttle the deal by claiming the streamer is engaged in left wing social engineering. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026

Why attackers love this tactic This is classic social engineering. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for social engineering

• bioengineering
• adhering
• appearing
• careering
• cohering
• endearing
• inhering
• prehearing
• rehearing
• veneering
• cheering
• clearing

Kids Definition

social engineering

noun

1

: management of human beings in accordance with their place and function in society : applied social science

2

: social methods (such as phishing) that are used to obtain personal or confidential information which can then be used illicitly