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

This backward-looking approach fails entirely against novel attack vectors like synthetic identity creation and deepfake social engineering. —Ethan Stone, USA Today, 11 May 2026

More than 75% of cybercrime now stems from scams and social engineering tactics like these, according to Bednowitz's testimony before a House Financial Services subcommittee in September 2025. —Mike Winters, CNBC, 9 May 2026

This is an interesting piece from Wired reporter Will Knight, who describes firsthand how advanced AI models are becoming alarmingly effective at social engineering, recounting a highly personalized phishing attempt generated entirely by the open-source model DeepSeek-V3. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026

Scammers are combining tactics, using identity theft to unlock accounts, then moving money through investment scams, impersonation schemes or social engineering attacks. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 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