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 Charlotte-area group led by local governmental officials is one of 16 regional councils in the state that mostly focus on economic development, planning and social services that extend beyond single communities. —Charlotte Observer, 22 Oct. 2025

The bilingual social service workers’ monolingual counterparts did not receive the equity increase. —Richard Halstead, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025

Before joining this organization, Scrivener helped raise millions for historic preservation, social services, health care, workforce development, and veterans and people with disabilities, according to her website. —Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025

The headlines bled trauma — shootout at social services and no suspects yet in the Pimlico Five executions and grocers in city county cited for food stamp violations. —Jeff Pearlman, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus