social distancing

noun

medical

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (such as six feet or more) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection : physical distancing

San Francisco issued recommendations for social distancing on Friday, advising residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid congregating in large groups.

—Taryn Luna and Melody Gutierrez

Under a new "social distancing" strategy, handshaking could be discouraged, with other, less tactile forms of greeting taking its place.

—Rosa Silverman

The term social distancing may be foreign to some, but the concept is one often practiced during the flu season, said Dora Anne Mills, the state's former top health official and currently chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth.

—Gillian Graham

Examples of social distancing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Millions of Americans rediscovered the sport during the time of social distancing, when vast, bored segments of the population yearned for outdoor activities. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

However, measures in place to limit the spread, such as regular handwashing and social distancing, are not followed at the artisanal mining sites, where work to extract gold is done by workers using basic hand tools like shovels and pans. — ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026

Documents made public since then have revealed that the specific guidance put out by the federal government on mask mandates and social distancing was not based in scientific evidence. — Gabrielle M. Etzel, The Washington Examiner, 9 Aug. 2026

Covid-19 wasn’t immediately recognized as a disease with airborne transmission with the potential to spread beyond the 6-foot social distancing measure, especially in places with poor ventilation or around activities with heavy breathing. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

social distancing

noun

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (as six feet) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease