social services

British

plural noun

welfare activities organized by the state or a local authority and carried out by trained personnel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Expansions in social services and other spending priorities have driven this surge.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

He matched the cost of several social services against the $25 billion estimated to be spent on the war through the end of this week and the $200-billion new request.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

During the trial, the court heard that social services had been involved with the Wixon family in the late 1990s, but there were no records of any other contact since.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

People without permanent housing are more likely to cycle through emergency rooms, interact with social services, and appear unstable in clinical settings.

From Slate • Mar. 12, 2026

And if social services comes, they might ask a lot of questions.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023