social
social — adjective
1. connected to occasions when people get together for enjoyment rather than for a
connected to occasions when people get together for enjoyment rather than for a job or school.
Baraka goes to social events at his church every Sunday after the service.
social + noun (event)
The university dormitory organizes social activities to help new students make friends.
social + noun (activities)
Nikhil prefers quiet evenings at home over loud social gatherings with strangers.
At work, Mert tries to attend every social dinner his team arranges.
The club holds a social hour after each meeting so members can talk.
- leisure
focuses on free time rather than interaction with others
- recreational
emphasises activities done for enjoyment, not just socialising
- communal
stresses sharing with a group rather than pleasure
- solitary
done alone, without other people
文法句型
social + noun
be + social
用法筆記
Often pairs with nouns like 'event', 'activity', 'life', and 'gathering' to describe situations focused on enjoyment rather than work.
常見錯誤
2. enjoying being with and talking to other people; having a personality that seeks
enjoying being with and talking to other people; having a personality that seeks out company.
Élise is a social person who chats with everyone she meets on the train.
social + person
Ravindra became much more social after joining the school basketball team.
became + more social (predicative)
Sari is not very social and likes to spend her weekends reading alone.
Minh's social nature helps him get along well with all his coworkers.
Yumi's cat is surprisingly social and greets every visitor at the door.
- sociable
nearly identical; 'sociable' is slightly more formal
- outgoing
emphasises being confident and energetic with people
- gregarious
stronger — describes someone who loves being in groups
- friendly
broader — can also mean kind and pleasant, not just sociable
- unsociable
direct opposite in same register
- withdrawn
suggests shyness or avoidance of others
文法句型
be + social
social + person/nature/butterfly
用法筆記
Used predominantly as a predicative adjective (after 'be', 'become', 'seem'). When attributive, it modifies nouns like 'person', 'nature', or 'animal'.
常見錯誤
3. concerning how people form communities, organise their shared life, and deal wit
concerning how people form communities, organise their shared life, and deal with issues that affect everyone in a society.
The government must deal with social problems such as poverty and homelessness.
social + noun (problems)
Kabir attends town hall meetings to learn about social issues affecting his neighborhood.
social + noun (issues) for society sense
Different cultures have different social rules about touching and personal space.
The charity works to improve social conditions for families in poor areas.
Gabriela wrote a report about social inequality in the education system.
- individual
relating to a single person rather than a group
- private
concerning personal rather than community matters
文法句型
social + noun
用法筆記
Almost always used attributively (before a noun). Common collocates include 'issue', 'problem', 'change', 'justice', 'inequality', 'class', 'structure', and 'system'.
常見錯誤
social — noun
1. an informal event where people from a group, organisation, or community gather t
an informal event where people from a group, organisation, or community gather to talk, eat, and enjoy themselves together.
The office social was held at a restaurant downtown with live music.
office social (common collocation)
Dahlia brought her famous chocolate cake to the neighbourhood social last week.
neighbourhood social
The church social raised money for a new playground in the local park.
Eli met his wife at a university social during freshman orientation week.
- gathering
more general; can be formal or informal
- get-together
more casual and friendly in tone
- party
usually implies music, dancing, and celebration
文法句型
a/the + social
social + prepositional phrase
用法筆記
Often paired with a preceding noun that identifies the group holding the event (e.g. 'church social', 'office social', 'school social'). This use is somewhat more common in North American English than in British English.
常見錯誤
2. a social media platform, website, or account where users share content and inter
a social media platform, website, or account where users share content and interact; also used as a general term for social media.
Tariro posted a video of her cooking class on her social this morning.
post on someone's social
Many small businesses use their socials to announce sales and new products.
socials (plural) for accounts
Yara deleted Instagram to take a break from her social for a month.
The artist shares pictures of his paintings on his social every weekend.
文法句型
someone's social
check/post on social
socials (plural)
用法筆記
The plural form 'socials' (meaning multiple accounts or platforms) is very common in informal speech. As a mass noun ('on social') it means social media in general.