social contract

noun

: an actual or hypothetical agreement among the members of an organized society or between a community and its ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each

Examples of social contract in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Alongside this implicit social contract, martial law gave the state the legal right to restrict many aspects of civic and political life. Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 29 Aug. 2025 Every technological revolution has forced us to renegotiate our social contract. Chris Lehane, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025 The old social contract assumed life began where work ended. Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025 When an employee joins a startup, there’s a social contract of sorts. Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for social contract

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of social contract was in 1660

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Cite this Entry

“Social contract.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20contract. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Legal Definition

social contract

noun
so·​cial contract
: an actual or hypothetical agreement among individuals forming an organized society or between the community and the ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each

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