social distance

[soh-shuhl dis-tuhns]

noun

1. Sociology.,  the extent to which individuals or groups are removed from or excluded from participating in one another's lives.

2. a safe or appropriate distance or amount of space between two people or between people in a group: Stay at a social distance of a few feet from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

   Security concerns demand that officers maintain a social distance from inmates.

   Stay at a social distance of a few feet from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

verb (used without object)

social distanced, social distancing 

1. to maintain a safe or appropriate distance from other people, especially to slow the spread of a contagious illness or disease.

   Mom’s trying hard to social distance, though she misses her weekly Bingo game.

verb (used with object)

social distanced, social distancing 

1. to place or keep at a safe or appropriate distance from other people.

   We’ve been exposed to the flu, so we’re social distancing ourselves from friends and extended family.

Word History and Origins

Origin of social distance¹

First recorded in 1825–30