social mobility

American  

[soh-shuhl moh-bil-i-tee] / ˈsoʊ ʃəl moʊˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

1. 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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social mobility Cultural  

1. The ability of individuals or groups to move upward or downward in status based on wealth, occupation, education, or some other social variable.

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American society operates on the principle that an individual's achievements can be rewarded by upward social mobility.

Etymology

Origin of social mobility

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

social mobility

Increasingly, this debate has spread to the U.K., where traditionally class, not race, has proved the main barrier to social mobility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

"And this desire to move is not just physical mobility," it is also "a kind of drive toward economic mobility and above all social mobility," he said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

At the time of the revolution, the U.S. drew ambitious people by offering them rights and legal protections, open markets, abundant land, and social mobility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The think tank found the initiatives - including loans for first-time buyers - had a "limited" impact on social mobility and housing affordability.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

In earlier decades, persons newly successful and ambitious for social mobility similarly seized upon certain ‘family words.’

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez