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

In many cases, juvenile detention ends up filling a gap left by social services. —Jeffrey Shook, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026

Sunny Fischer, one of the founders of the Chicago Foundation for Women, said the women who started it around 1983 wanted to serve women differently than how many large social service organizations were at the time. —ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026

The Observer previously requested but has not received public records regarding previous social services visits to the home. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 16 Mar. 2026

More than a decade ago, Santa Clara County in Northern California figured out that the biggest expense accompanying a large homeless population wasn’t a social service or police patrol, but health care. —Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus