social welfare

See more synonyms for social welfare on Thesaurus.com

noun

social services provided by a government for its citizens.

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Origin of social welfare

First recorded in 1915–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

relief welfare casework

Examples from the Web for social welfare

Contemporary Examples

It added that it would be “operated exclusively for public and social-welfare purposes.”
Mystery Man Buys Kentucky for the GOP
Center for Public Integrity
October 29, 2014
The FEC has held that social-welfare nonprofits like the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, which are organized under Sec.
Mystery Man Buys Kentucky for the GOP
Center for Public Integrity
October 29, 2014
Yes, as many conservatives fear, many of the new Americans would be eligible for, and take advantage of, social-welfare benefits.
CBO’s Case for Immigration: $197 Billion Cut in U.S. Deficit
Daniel Gross
June 19, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for social welfare

social welfare

noun

the various social services provided by a state for the benefit of its citizens
(capitals) (in New Zealand) a government department concerned with pensions and benefits for the elderly, the sick, etc

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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