welfare
the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being: to look after a child's welfare; the physical or moral welfare of society.
financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government: Thousands of jobless people in this city would starve if it weren't for welfare.
(initial capital letter)Informal. a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work.
Idioms about welfare
on welfare, receiving financial aid from the government or from a private organization because of hardship and need.
Origin of welfare
1Other words from welfare
- an·ti·wel·fare, adjective
Words Nearby welfare
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use welfare in a sentence
Not only is getting out and about good for your health, it also does wonders for your dog’s welfare, Gruen says.
How to help your pet with separation anxiety | Sara Kiley Watson | August 26, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIn a country with some 210 million people, such a system could speed up the delivery of social welfare and tax benefits, and make public policies more efficient.
Brazil is sliding into techno-authoritarianism | Tate Ryan-Mosley | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewBeyond boosting profits, their efforts are driven by an imminent climate crisis, in which cattle play a significant role, and growing concern for livestock welfare among consumers.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed? | Dyllan Furness | August 16, 2020 | Singularity HubSo, the costs — of pollution, of degraded animal welfare — that are currently not being borne by either producers or consumers of food, would have to be borne.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | August 6, 2020 | FreakonomicsIn effect, it enhances social insurance protections and is a step towards universal basic income, both policies I think would improve social welfare even in the absence of a pandemic.
Economists Think Congress Should Keep Paying Unemployed Workers $600 A Week — Or Even More | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | July 21, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Many parents have been defeated in their efforts to get help from child welfare departments.
In 2011, only 27 percent of families living in poverty were receiving welfare assistance.
To GOP Congress, as Usual, It’s Welfare on the Chopping Block | Monica Potts | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis year, a bare-bones welfare program will continue into the New Year without being updated.
To GOP Congress, as Usual, It’s Welfare on the Chopping Block | Monica Potts | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was a Republican Congress working with a Democratic president that succeeded in passing the welfare reform bill the first time.
To GOP Congress, as Usual, It’s Welfare on the Chopping Block | Monica Potts | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOnce upon a time Bill Clinton and a bipartisan congressional majority ended welfare as we once knew it.
With Immigration Move, Obama and the Welfare Party Strike Again | Lloyd Green | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFeeling secure regarding their happiness and welfare, she did not miss them except with an occasional intense longing.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThese are obtained easily, whence follow the sinister reports that they give your Majesty, to the harm of the public welfare.
His wife was ignorant of the cause of his staying out so long, and suffered greatly from anxiety about his welfare.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousOccasions happen when the removal of directors is essential to the welfare of a corporation.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesI am sending this by Wong, as I am watched closely, though he pretends to be looking out only for my welfare.
Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman
British Dictionary definitions for welfare
/ (ˈwɛlˌfɛə) /
health, happiness, prosperity, and well-being in general
financial and other assistance given to people in need
(as modifier): welfare services
Also called: welfare work plans or work to better the social or economic conditions of various underprivileged groups
the welfare informal, mainly British the public agencies involved with giving such assistance
on welfare mainly US and Canadian in receipt of financial aid from a government agency or other source
Origin of welfare
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for welfare
Government-provided support for those unable to support themselves. In the United States, it is undertaken by various federal, state, and local agencies under the auspices of different programs, the best known of which are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and food stamps.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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