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

He examined the animals’ social structures and survival tactics.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From Barron's

Armajani’s unusual earthwork joined in: Embracing a legal, bureaucratic form, he pointed to land as a decidedly social structure.

From Los Angeles Times

What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism.

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure