social service

noun

plural social services

: a program or effort designed to promote human or societal well-being

specifically : organized help for people who are in need of assistance with basic needs (such as food, housing, safety, or job training) or with medical needs (such as addiction or mental illness)

—usually plural

Most states are struggling with skimpy resources and a system of uncoordinated social services that is totally inadequate to serve a population of individuals whose needs are bottomless.

—Constance Holden

… attacked the idea of social services, claiming that the only entity entitled to provide care is the church, not the government.

—Tori Otten

—often used before another noun

social service agencies

Until the bridge's closure, the island hosted and supported social service programs including homeless shelters and an addiction recovery campus.

—Ellie Wolfe

Examples of social service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The library is hiring a part-time outreach staff member to join its social services team. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 8 July 2025

Healthcare What is happening: To offset some of the tax cuts, the bill will make significant cuts to social services such as Medicaid and Medicare — not to mention defunding Planned Parenthood clinics for up to one year. —Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2025

The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. —Olivia Lloyd july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025

Police should be prohibited from stopping and arresting people for quality-of-life violations such as sleeping at bus stops or public urination, and instead call for social services assistance. —Miguel Torres, AZCentral.com, 3 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus