social

so|cial1 [ `souʃl ] adjective ***

1. ) relating to activities that involve being with other people, especially activities that you do for pleasure:

a social activity/engagement/get-together

social contact: The worst thing about working at home is the lack of social contact.

a social call (=a visit for the purpose of pleasure, not business): This is not a social call. I'm afraid I have some bad news.

a ) relating to rules about behavior with other people:

social skills (=how good you are at meeting and dealing with people): We need someone with excellent social skills.

social graces (=manners): The children still need to learn a few social graces.

b ) a social person enjoys being with other people

2. ) relating to society and to people's lives in general:

They try to address social problems such as unemployment and poor health.

social justice: The interests of big companies are rarely compatible with social justice.

social change: a period of enormous political and social change

social conditions: There has been a progressive deterioration of the social conditions of small farmers.

a ) relating to the position that someone has in society in relation to other people:

a judgment about someone based on their social background

The evidence shows a relationship between crime and social class.

3. ) used for describing animals that live in groups instead of alone

social

so|cial 2 [ `souʃl ] noun

1. ) count OLD-FASHIONED a party

2. ) the social BRITISH VERY INFORMAL money that someone receives from the government as a SOCIAL SECURITY payment

a ) the government department that deals with social security