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social welfare
noun
: organized public or private social services for the assistance of disadvantaged groups
specifically
: social work
Examples of social welfare in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), headed by two women with immigrant roots in the Middle East and North Africa (Sahra Wagenknecht and Amira Mohamed Ali), takes a hardline approach to immigration in service of protecting ostensibly progressive values — specifically social welfare.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social welfare at UCLA who studies school shootings, said the Richneck prosecution might represent a sea change, spurred by the relentless pace of gun violence on campuses in recent years.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
For decades, China’s booming cities and factories have relied on the cheap labor of countless migrants without granting them access to urban social welfare benefits, including education for their children.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024
Protecting social welfare: The plan extends the solvency of Medicare indefinitely and steadily increases spending for Social Security.
—USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024
The community IDs cannot be used to vote, drive or receive social welfare benefits.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
Proceeds: Benefit The Lotus Foundation, a foundation that Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach launched to support charitable projects aimed at advancing social welfare in diverse areas.
—Adam Bell, Charlotte Observer, 22 Feb. 2024
Drug use and overdose deaths have been an increasing problem in San Francisco in recent months, drawing harsh criticism from conservative politicians and others who blame lax police enforcement and the city’s liberal social welfare policies.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Some Democratic members of Congress and groups have also accused No Labels of acting like a political party, despite its tax-exempt social welfare organization status.
—Cristina Corujo, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'social welfare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1912, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near social welfare
Cite this Entry
“Social welfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20welfare. Accessed 24 May. 2024.
Medical Definition
social welfare
noun
social wel·fare
-ˈwel-ˌfa(ə)r, -ˌfe(ə)r
: organized public or private social services for the assistance of disadvantaged groups
specifically
: social work
More from Merriam-Webster on social welfare
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about social welfare
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