social security
Americannoun
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Usually Social Security a program of old-age, unemployment, health, disability, and survivors insurance maintained by the U.S. federal government through compulsory payments by specific employer and employee groups.
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the theory or practice of providing economic security and social welfare for the individual through government programs maintained by funds from public taxation.
noun
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public provision for the economic, and sometimes social, welfare of the aged, unemployed, etc, esp through pensions and other monetary assistance
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(often capitals) a government programme designed to provide such assistance
Etymology
Origin of social security
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
In California, people are required to provide a driver’s license number or a portion of their social security number when they register to vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"Healthcare and the social security system must be improved. That has gone down in the last couple of years."
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Legal responsibility for social security is almost entirely devolved to Stormont so local ministers have the powers to make their own rules on Pip or any other part of the welfare system.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Elma Saiz, the minister for inclusion, social security and migration, said food and basic healthcare had been provided daily to 4,000 migrants by the Red Cross.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The last four digits of her social security number.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
