social network

noun

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

1 : a network of individuals (such as friends, acquaintances, and coworkers) connected by interpersonal relationships

2 : an online service or site through which people create and maintain interpersonal relationships

And millions of people have become comfortable using smart-phones to share information about themselves, via mobile apps that access social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
—The Economist

Recent Examples of social network from the Web

In an open letter, Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene Kaspersky called out Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey over the social network's advertising ban.

— CBS News, "Twitter bans ads from Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab," 20 Apr. 2018
Unfriend Stock-picking fund managers have soured on Facebook since the social network’s revelation that millions of users’ data were compromised.

— gerard baker, WSJ, "The 10-Point.," 17 Apr. 2018
The average user spends approximately 60 minutes per day on Facebook's various properties, which including Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the social network network itself.

— chris ciaccia, Fox News, "Trust in Facebook plummets after Cambridge Analytica scandal, Zuckerberg testimony," 17 Apr. 2018
The social network’s shares surged as much as 12 percent after a long-term bear decided that the stock should no longer be sold.

— Fortune, "Twitter Shares Are Having an Even Bigger Day Than Netflix," 17 Apr. 2018
With Facebook’s public approval at an all-time low, public school teachers are among the few who see the social network’s potential as a catalyst for meaningful change.

— alexia fernández campbell, Vox, "Facebook is in crisis mode. The teacher strikes show it can still serve a civic purpose.," 12 Apr. 2018
Facebook will give a committee of senior academics independent access to its data, allowing researchers to study the social network’s effect on democracy and elections.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "Mark Zuckerberg Says He’s Not Resigning," 9 Apr. 2018
Facebook won't restrict that transparency to the U.S. Zuckerberg will also testify that the social network plans to hire thousands to help verify the identity of advertisers and people running political pages around the world.

— david pierson, latimes.com, "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to apologize for his company's mistakes during his Washington testimony," 9 Apr. 2018
In a statement announcing the temporary suspensions, Facebook said Kogan harvested the data legitimately, but then passed it along to third parties in violation of the social network’s terms.

— chas danner, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Data Firm Exploited Private Information From Millions of Facebook Users," 17 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'social network.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.