social construct

American  

[soh-shuhl kon-struhkt] / ˈsoʊ ʃəl ˈkɒn strʌkt /

noun

1. a complex concept or practice shared by a society or group, not arising from any natural or innate source but built on the assumptions upheld, usually tacitly, by its members.

   The Green Party supports the EU in viewing disability as a social construct and recognizes the well-established link between poverty and disability.

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Etymology

Origin of social construct

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

So yeah, I just think people who are in the public eye have an experience inside of a social construct that is so violently unusual.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025

One way to reconcile the cognitive dissonance is to accept that gender roles are a social construct and, actually, it’s okay if women want to be firefighters and men want to be manicurists.

From Salon • Aug. 15, 2025

While researchers say sex generally refers to physiological characteristics and gender is more a social construct, when it comes to federal civil rights law, they are essentially the same.

From Reuters • May 19, 2023

Bed Bath is a story about calcification, sure, but it is also a story about money being a social construct and people spending it in ways that do not make sense.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2023

“Ah, yes. I know it looks that way, friend, but let me explain. It’s a funny story, actually. My father is white and my mother is black and race is a social construct, so...”

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah