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Synonyms

social service

American  

noun

  • social services
    plural
  1. organized welfare efforts carried on under professional auspices by trained personnel.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of social service

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Police and social service providers routinely sent homeless people from throughout the city and county to the squalid downtown neighborhood.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 10, 2025

Although CPS is a social service agency, it has a lot of overlap with the criminal justice system.

From Salon Apr. 7, 2025

When he started out in Hull in the ’80s, Sibley said, police departments in the U.K. were already working to defer calls to social service agencies.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 24, 2024

Suga started his service last year and is working as a social service agent after being ruled unfit for regular combat duty.

From BBC Aug. 7, 2024

They represented social service agencies in the United States and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau

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