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You know what it looks like… but what is it called?
TAKE THE QUIZsocial 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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Weight Watchers employ this type of social contract in some ways to encourage but also as a deterrent to relapse.
—
Ian Hamilton, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2022
Bass is tasked with patching fissures in the social contract in a city rocked by racist remarks uttered by a few City Council members and witnessed by a labor leader in a secret recording revealed in October.
—Dennis Romero, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2022
The shift strikes at the party’s longstanding social contract with its people.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 4 Dec. 2022
Promises of a year’s paid maternity leave or a subsidized day care spot once a child turns one led many in Germany to start families; when the pandemic stripped the latter away, that may have felt like a breach in the social contract.
—Courtney Tenz, Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Nov. 2022
Our evolved social contract—to hunt, gather and farm collectively—tied us together, gave us our childhood and extended our golden years.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
In effect, Jiang’s embrace of financial reform was a continuation of Deng’s social contract with the Chinese people: to accept the rule of the party in exchange for getting rich.
—David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
That era of prosperity was fundamental for the social contract between the Communist Party and a population whose freedoms have been dramatically curtailed since President Xi Jinping took power 10 years ago.
—Reuters, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2022
But the policies and programs underpinning our social contract were mostly designed during the 20th century in ways that are proving unsustainable in the 21st century.
—Paul Ryan, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2022
See More
Ian Hamilton, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2022
Bass is tasked with patching fissures in the social contract in a city rocked by racist remarks uttered by a few City Council members and witnessed by a labor leader in a secret recording revealed in October.
—Dennis Romero, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2022
The shift strikes at the party’s longstanding social contract with its people.
—Vivian Wang, New York Times, 4 Dec. 2022
Promises of a year’s paid maternity leave or a subsidized day care spot once a child turns one led many in Germany to start families; when the pandemic stripped the latter away, that may have felt like a breach in the social contract.
—Courtney Tenz, Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Nov. 2022
Our evolved social contract—to hunt, gather and farm collectively—tied us together, gave us our childhood and extended our golden years.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
In effect, Jiang’s embrace of financial reform was a continuation of Deng’s social contract with the Chinese people: to accept the rule of the party in exchange for getting rich.
—David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022
That era of prosperity was fundamental for the social contract between the Communist Party and a population whose freedoms have been dramatically curtailed since President Xi Jinping took power 10 years ago.
—Reuters, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2022
But the policies and programs underpinning our social contract were mostly designed during the 20th century in ways that are proving unsustainable in the 21st century.
—Paul Ryan, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2022
See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'social contract.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
First Known Use
1660, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near social contract
Cite this Entry
“Social contract.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20contract. Accessed 5 Feb. 2023.
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
More from Merriam-Webster on social contract
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about social contract
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