social structure

American  

[soh-shuhl struhk-cher] / ˈsoʊ ʃəl ˈstrʌk tʃər /

noun

1. Sociology.

   1. the system or complex of beliefs held by members of a social group.

   2. the system of relations between the constituent groups of a society.

   3. the relationship between or the interrelated arrangement of the social institutions of a society or culture, as of mores, marriage customs, or family.

   4. the pattern of relationships, as of status or friendship, existing among the members of a group or society.

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Etymology

Origin of social structure

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

They examined factors including tool use, diet, habitat, body size, social structure, brain size, and movement patterns.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

Rational choices within families result in the Great Decompression, with deep consequences for the nation’s social structure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The law stipulates that under the "right to self-identity", settlements are entitled to protect and preserve their "social structure".

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

The show’s thorough, wonderfully readable catalog refers to the power of “funerary magnificence” in the kingdom’s social structure.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025

That social structure is ideal for domestication, because humans in effect take over the dominance hierarchy.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure