social work

noun

1. organized work directed toward the betterment of social conditions in the community, as by seeking to improve the condition of people in poverty, to promote the welfare of children, etc.

social work

noun

1. any of various social services designed to alleviate the conditions of the poor and aged and to increase the welfare of children

Other Word Forms

• social worker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of social work¹

First recorded in 1915–20