social science
Americannoun
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the study of society and social behavior.
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a science or field of study, as history, economics, etc., dealing with an aspect of society or forms of social activity.
noun
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the study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society, including economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology
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any of these subjects studied individually
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of social science
First recorded in 1775–85
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.
Many humanities and social science majors — pursued by students with a passion for sociology, history, art, music and English — tend to earn far less, around $40,000 to $60,000, the data show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
He became crown prince in 1957, and studied social science, history and economics at Balliol College in Oxford from 1960 to 1962.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
In law and social science, we call this impact a chilling effect – the behavioral tendency for people in face of a threat to self-censor and restrain their activities for self-protection.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Trained on source data ranging from social science to scripture, the app aims to offer rational answers to questions such as “Is there evidence of life after death?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
It is the founding concept of modern social science: David Hume’s theory of the balance of trade and Adam Smith’s conception of the market depend on the concept of a feedback mechanism.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
