social studies

American  

noun

1. a course of instruction in an elementary or secondary school comprising such subjects as history, geography, civics, etc.

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social studies British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the study of how people live and organize themselves in society, embracing geography, history, economics, and other subjects

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Etymology

Origin of social studies

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

social studies

To answer that, it’s worth going back to seventh grade social studies.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Audiences, including the middle school social studies students, deserve better and more nuanced stories about this country and the values it was built upon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Public school teachers are trained to teach literacy, history and social studies, not theology, leaving educators to navigate how biblical texts will be presented while serving students from diverse religious backgrounds.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

“We’ve always highlighted civics, social studies, history, economics and very specifically about how countries operate,” says series creator and executive producer Aaron Augenblick.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

And what if Pa decided I couldn’t go to the Jackson Five concert because I was shouting “Your pie-baking mama!” in social studies, like a dice-throwing hoodlum?

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia