social

adj, noun — 13 senses

social

adj

UK /ˈsəʊ.ʃəl/ · US /ˈsoʊ.ʃəl/

Etymology From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, companion, fellow”). More at seg.

1

Being extroverted or outgoing.

  • James is a very social guy; he knows lots of people.
  • Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it—would they let me—since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in.1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1:
2

Of or relating to society.

  • Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.2012 January 23, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2012, page 70:
  • Teresa feels uncomfortable in certain social situations.
1 more example
  • Unemployment is a social problem.
3

Internet Relating to social media or social networks.

  • social gaming
4

Rare Relating to a nation's allies.

  • the Social War
5

Biology, Natural sciences Cooperating or growing in groups.

  • a social insect
Antonyms
antisocial, unsocial, asocial
Derived terms
218 termsanti-social, anti-social personality disorder, biosocial, box social, chronosocial, corporate social responsibility, cybersocial, dissocial, dissocialize, ecosocial, ethnosocial, eusocial, extrasocial, geosocial, heterosocial, homosocial, hypersocial, ice cream social, ice-cream social, intersocial, macrosocial, medicosocial, metasocial, microsocial, necktie social, nonsocial, parasocial, physicosocial, postsocialistic, presocial, prosocial, protosocial, pseudosocial, psychosocial, quasisocial, s-commerce, semisocial, shadow social, socdem, sociable, social action, social affairs minister, social alienation, social anthropologist, social anthropology, social anxiety, social anxiety disorder, social atom, social autopsy, social battery, social bookmarking, social butterfly, social call, social capital, social choice, social circle, social class, social climber, social climbing, social club, social cohesion, social collaboration, social collapse, social column, social columnist, social commentary, social commerce, social compact, social conditioning, social conflict paradigm, social conscience, social conservatism, social conservative, social construct, social constructionism, social constructionist, social constructivism, social constructivist, social contagion, social contract, social control, social cost, social coupon, social credit, social creditism, social cue, social Darwinism, social death, social deduction, social democracy, social democrat, social democratic, social disease, social distance, social distancing, social drinker, social dynamics, social eating, social ecology, social engineer, social engineering, social entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, social envy, social event, social evil, social evolutionism, social fascism, social fascist, social function, social grace, social graph, social group, social handbag, social hangover, social history, social housing, social hygiene, social immunity, social imperialism, social infertility, social informatics, social insect, social insurance, social insurance number, socialise, social isolation, social issue, socialist, socialite, socialization, socialize, social jet lag, social justice, social-justice warrior, social justice warrior, social ladder, social landlord, social liberal, social liberalism, social life, social listening, social loafing, social lubricant, socially, social marginality, social media, social media intelligence, social media revolution, social medium, social mobility, social movement, social murder, socialness, social network, social networking, social nicety, social notworking, social occasion, social order, social orphan, social outcast, social partnership, social pattern, social philosophy, social phobia, social physics, social piranha, social policy, social power, socialpreneur, social profile, social programming, social project management, social promotion, social proof, social psychology, social realism, social recession, social recruiting, social responsibility, social roll, social safety net, socialscape, social science, social scientist, social season, social secretary, social security, social service, social services, social sharing, social skills, social smoker, social spam, social spending, social standing, social station, social status, social stigma, social studies, social supermarket, social tariff, social trading, social unit, social valence, social viewing, social wasp, social weaverbird, social welfare, social whale, social work, social worker, SOCMINT, subsocial, supersocial, technosocial, ultrasocial
Related terms
sociality, societal

social

noun

Etymology From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, companion, fellow”). More at seg.

8 senses
  1. 1A festive gathering to foster introductions.
  2. 2A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to…
  3. 3Ellipsis of social security.
  4. 4Ellipsis of social security number.
  5. 5A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company…
  6. 6Ellipsis of social studies.
  7. 7Ellipsis of social media.
  8. 8A social media account; the username or handle thereof…
1

A festive gathering to foster introductions.

  • They organized a social at the dance club to help people get to know one another.
2

Canadian Prairies A dance held to raise money, often held for a couple to be married.

3

UK, Abbreviation, Colloquial, Ellipsis, With definite article Ellipsis of social security.

  • Fred hated going down to the social to sign on.
4

US, Abbreviation, Colloquial, Ellipsis Ellipsis of social security number.

  • What's your social? [asked so that the asker can look up your account details]
5

Ireland, Dated A dinner dance event, usually held annually by a company or sporting club.

6

Canada, Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of social studies.

7

Internet, Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Informal Ellipsis of social media.

  • “I saw that shift, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s the future of social,’” Systrom said.2023 January 31, Casey Newton, quoting Kevin Systrom, “Instagram’s co-founders are back with Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text”, in The Verge, archived from the original on 02 Apr 2024:
  • It went mainstream after it was dubbed the "vampire facial" on social.2026, Brian Underwood, “When You Can Turn Back Time”, in Men's Health, volume 41, number 2, page 31:
8

Internet, Informal A social media account; the username or handle thereof, or a link thereto.

  • Also check out some other experts in this topic — their socials are in the pinned comment below.
  • Close your mouth and delete all your socials tonight.2019 August 29, “Cheeto Christ Stupid Czar”, Randy Rainbow (lyrics), Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)performed by Randy Rainbow:
1 more example
  • Nearly a week after the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the world is still adjusting to the fact that he has an American family that does typically American things. The Borgias, for all their many sins, never posted crude or spicy memes to the socials.2025 May 13, Richard Fausset, “The Pope’s Florida Brother, a MAGA Disciple, Plans to ‘Tone It Down’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 May 2025:
Derived terms
dark social

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.