social science

American  

noun

1. the study of society and social behavior.

2. a science or field of study, as history, economics, etc., dealing with an aspect of society or forms of social activity.

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social science British  

noun

1. the study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society, including economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology

2. any of these subjects studied individually

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social science Scientific  

/ sō′shəl /

1. Any of various disciplines that study human society and social relationships, including sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and history.

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social science Cultural  

1. The study of how groups of people behave, often in an effort to predict how they will behave in the future. The social sciences include economics, anthropology, sociology, political science, and aspects of psychology and history.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• social scientist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of social science

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

In law and social science, we call this impact a chilling effect – the behavioral tendency for people in face of a threat to self-censor and restrain their activities for self-protection.

From Salon • May 28, 2026

Trained on source data ranging from social science to scripture, the app aims to offer rational answers to questions such as “Is there evidence of life after death?”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

He appears in social science standards, English lessons, and units on American heroes and biography writing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

A dedicated social science programmewill run in tandem with the project's scientific development and will be led by Prof Joy Zhang, a sociologist, at the University of Kent.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2025

We live in an era of social science, and have become accustomed to understanding the social world in terms of “forces,” “pressures,” “processes,” and “developments.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• business
• finance