1
: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity
must look out for your own welfare
2
a
: aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need
b
: an agency or program through which such aid is distributed
1
: of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups
welfare legislation
2
: receiving public welfare benefits
welfare families
Examples of welfare in a Sentence
Noun
He wants to do away with welfare.
I have your welfare at heart.
The welfare of all the orphans was at stake.
She donates to organizations concerned about animal welfare.
Recent Examples on the Web
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 18 May 2025
The Oakland Zoo is part of a coalition of animal welfare organizations pushing to pass the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would enact a federal ban on the pet primate trade.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025
John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for welfare
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
So, the welfare group amputated her legs and rehabilitated her before sending her halfway across the world in March 2023 to a partner animal welfare organization called Twenty Paws in New York City.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 18 May 2025
The Oakland Zoo is part of a coalition of animal welfare organizations pushing to pass the Captive Primate Safety Act, which would enact a federal ban on the pet primate trade.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025
Adjective
Moderate Democrats fear pro-welfare and anti-business labels.
—John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See All Example Sentences for welfare
Cite this Entry
“Welfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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