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definitions

social security

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noun

(usually initial capital letters) a program of old-age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups.
the theory or practice of providing economic security and social welfare for the individual through government programs maintained by moneys from public taxation.

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Nearby words

  1. social realism,
  2. social register,
  3. social science,
  4. social scientist,
  5. social secretary,
  6. social security act,
  7. social security administration,
  8. social security system,
  9. social service,
  10. social services

Origin of social security

First recorded in 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for social security

social security

noun

public provision for the economic, and sometimes social, welfare of the aged, unemployed, etc, esp through pensions and other monetary assistance
(often capitals) a government programme designed to provide such assistance
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012