social security

noun

Definition of social security

1 : the principle or practice or a program of public provision (as through social insurance or assistance) for the economic security and social welfare of the individual and his or her family especially, capitalized both Ss : a U.S. government program established in 1935 to include old-age and survivors insurance, contributions to state unemployment insurance, and old-age assistance

2 : money paid out through a social security program began collecting social security

Examples of social security in a Sentence

She is living on social security. He began collecting Social Security checks.

Recent Examples on the Web Seneca Birchmore, 44, of Cincinnati, was arrested on complaints related to misuse of social security number, aggravated identity theft and fraud in connection with major disaster and emergency benefits, according to court documents. — Lexi Whitehead, The Enquirer, 3 June 2022 Interested in the new service, the woman gave the caller her social security number, driver’s license number, date of birth and her credit card number. — John Benson, cleveland, 19 Apr. 2022 Without a second thought, a renter will disclose all their personal information — social security number, bank accounts, driver's license, date of birth, employment, income — on an application and may pay a deposit to a stranger. — Christopher Elliott, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 After running Adkins' social security number, police found an outstanding warrant for her arrest in Kentucky for failing to pay a fine. — Steve Helling, PEOPLE.com, 23 Feb. 2022 Recipients don’t need to provide a social security number, say what their income is, or even give an address. — Stefene Russell, The Salt Lake Tribune, 21 Feb. 2022 It would be distributed through the Social Security Administration and available to every child with a social security number. — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 27 Jan. 2022 Chiang has also been charged with using the social security number of one CMC employee in an attempt to fraudulently obtain an IRS tax refund. — Amelia Arvesen, Outside Online, 26 July 2021 The criminal complaint alleges that Primrose and Morrison assumed the dead children's identities to obtain state documents in 1987 and social security numbers later that same year. — Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 28 July 2022 See More

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

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Dictionary Entries Near social security

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social security

Social Security number

Statistics for social security

Last Updated

14 Aug 2022

Cite this Entry

“Social security.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20security. Accessed 17 Aug. 2022.

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More Definitions for social security

social security

noun

Legal Definition of social security

1 : the principle or practice or a program of public provision (as through social insurance or assistance) for the economic security and social welfare of the individual and his or her family especially, often capitalized both Ss : a U.S. government program established in 1935 to include old-age and survivors insurance, contributions to state unemployment insurance, and old-age assistance