welfare state

noun

1

: a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens

2

: a nation or state characterized by the operation of the welfare state system

Examples of welfare state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The growing welfare state demanded new expertise and information to properly guide programs, with Republicans hoping to restrict their growth by introducing practices and ideas from the private sector into government. —TIME, 10 Apr. 2024

There is no rescue on the way for Britain’s welfare state. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Also, excessively generous welfare states grounded in the exploitation of natural resources are economically unsustainable and politically explosive. —Paula Ramón, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

The welfare state needs to be lagom, says Dr. Bergh. —Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Feb. 2024

Without it, relatively small left-wing majorities could come to power and very quickly transform the U.S. into a European welfare state. —The Editors, National Review, 6 Mar. 2024

Saudi Arabia wants to move beyond its rentier welfare state, which, as of 2017, employed two-thirds of the country’s workforce. —Bernard Haykel, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2024

This practice created a broad and stable consensus that upheld liberal democracy, the welfare state, and private ownership of the means of production. —Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

Over time, these conditions came to include universal suffrage and the welfare state, as well as individual empowerment and market freedom. —Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

welfare state

noun

: a social system in which the government takes on much of the responsibility for the individual and group welfare of its people