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 accusations are the most recent in a series of fraud scandals involving state social service programs that provided meals for needy children during the pandemic, Medicaid housing assistance and other safety nets which benefit needy families. —Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Jan. 2026

Nonprofits and social service agencies can be sources of information about assistance programs that are not widely advertised. —Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026

Local governments collect less revenue just as demand for health care and social services rises, a dynamic highlighted in regional analyses by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. —Anabel Mendoza, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026

That custody order said the children were initially placed with McKnight in 2020 by social services in Fayetteville, where the mother lived. —Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 1 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for social service

• interservice
• disservice
• preservice
• nervous
• nervus