social

I UK [ˈsəʊʃ(ə)l] / US [ˈsoʊʃ(ə)l] adjective ***

1)

a) 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.

b) 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.

2) 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 from 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 behaviour 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

3) biology social animals live in groups instead of living alone

II UK [ˈsəʊʃ(ə)l] / US [ˈsoʊʃ(ə)l] noun
Word forms "social":
singular social plural socials

1) [countable] old-fashioned a party

2) the social

British very informal money that someone receives from the government as a social security payment