social science

noun

Definition of social science

1 : a branch of science that deals with the institutions and functioning of human society and with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society

2 : a science (such as economics or political science) dealing with a particular phase or aspect of human society

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Examples of social science in a Sentence

Economics is a social science.

Recent Examples on the Web Researchers said the work has been a collaboration by the public university UABC, the University of California San Diego and the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a private university specializing in social science research and border issues. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Disparate testing, vaccination rates in San Diego and Baja show challenges of re-opening," 21 Feb. 2021 These methods have been used in millions of applications, spreading well beyond physics to chemistry, biology and social science. — New York Times, "Arianna Rosenbluth Dies at 93; Pioneering Figure in Data Science," 9 Feb. 2021 Most social science researchers focus on explicit and implicit attitudes that individuals have and the way these attitudes influence individual behavior and decisions. — George B. Cunningham, The Conversation, "Racism at the county level associated with increased COVID-19 cases and deaths," 7 Dec. 2020 People being hesitant to accept vaccination is not a new problem, of course, and social science has studied hesitancy for years. — Maryn Mckenna, Wired, "Vaccines Are Here. We Have to Talk About Side Effects," 17 Dec. 2020 Beyond individual tastes or personal experiences, social science has provided some explanations for why the holidays might be less than blissful. — Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, "How to Make a Sad Holiday a Little Merrier," 17 Dec. 2020 Aktipis believes that altruism is more common—and beneficial—than evolutionary social science has long presumed. — Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, "Sharing doesn’t make you a sucker. This scientist has the numbers to prove it.," 7 Dec. 2020 After formulating the anywhere-versus-somewheres dichotomy, Goodhart in his new book, Head, Hand, Heart (2020), shows again his knack for capturing complex social science in readable prose, although this time with a deeper cut. — Jorge González-gallarza Hernández, National Review, "David Goodhart, Up from the Cognitive Meritocracy," 6 Dec. 2020 Instead, there arose a blasphemous sidestepping of social science, a practice of going straight for the jugular. — Bruce Mccall, The New Yorker, "My Life in Cars," 12 Dec. 2020

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

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Last Updated

25 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Social science.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20science. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for social science

social science

noun

English Language Learners Definition of social science

: the study of human society

: a particular area of study that relates to human behavior and society

See the full definition for social science in the English Language Learners Dictionary

social science

noun

Medical Definition of social science

1 : a branch of science that deals with the institutions and functioning of human society and with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society

2 : a science (as anthropology or social psychology) dealing with a particular phase or aspect of human society

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