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social mobility
[ soh-shuhl moh-bil-i-tee ]
/ ˈsoʊ ʃəl moʊˈbɪl ɪ ti /
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noun
Sociology. the movement of people in a population, as from place to place, from job to job, or from one social class or level to another.
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Compare horizontal mobility, vertical mobility.
Origin of social mobility
First recorded in 1925–30
Words nearby social mobility
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use social mobility in a sentence
Cultural definitions for social mobility
social mobility
The ability of individuals or groups to move upward or downward in status based on wealth, occupation, education, or some other social variable.
notes for social mobility
American society operates on the principle that an individual's achievements can be rewarded by upward social mobility.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.