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 accumulation of unemployment, underemployment, and low wages for Chinese households and workers are already significant, yet Beijing has responded with only modest new household subsidies and incremental investment in social services. — Oliver Melton, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2026

The five-member board oversees county services, including public health and social services. — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

There were tent camps on both sides of the border, caravans of people trudging through Central America and concerns about newcomers overwhelming social services. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026

But Lamont and his fellow Democrats in the legislature’s majority have used hundreds of millions in state reserves to offset federal cutbacks in healthcare, heating assistance and other social services. — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus