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

Pepys worked in the Navy Office in the City of London during a period of rapid social mobility.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

The study also raises difficult questions about social mobility and public policy.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

Osborne and Ribeiro-Addy were among several Labour MPs who said they backed scrapping tuition fees altogether to boost social mobility and make higher education more accessible.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

Many immigrant families, like Alex’s, are initially drawn to the U.S. with aspirations for education access and social mobility.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

My education may have made it inevitable that I would become a citizen of the secular city, but I have come to embrace the city’s values: social mobility; pluralism; egalitarianism; self-reliance.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez