social distancing

noun

medical

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (such as six feet or more) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection : physical distancing

San Francisco issued recommendations for social distancing on Friday, advising residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid congregating in large groups.

—Taryn Luna and Melody Gutierrez

Under a new "social distancing" strategy, handshaking could be discouraged, with other, less tactile forms of greeting taking its place.

—Rosa Silverman

The term social distancing may be foreign to some, but the concept is one often practiced during the flu season, said Dora Anne Mills, the state's former top health official and currently chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth.

—Gillian Graham

Examples of social distancing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For instance, a 2020 study shows that during the Covid-19 pandemic, collective efforts to promote public health—like mask-wearing and social distancing—demonstrated how shared belief in collective responsibility leads to societal benefits. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Yet a persistent subtext of the conference was that the social interventions taken against the pandemic, such as business and school closings, mask and social distancing advisories and lockdowns, were generally worse than the disease. —Michael A. Hiltzik, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024

Because symptoms are similar and diagnostics aren't fast, people can best mitigate their risks with the flu shot plus social distancing and mask-wearing this fall and winter. —Tina Reed, Axios, 25 July 2024

However, that reliance backfired during the Covid-19 pandemic when the gambling and gaming industries took major hits from border closures and social distancing policies. —Dylan Butts, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

social distancing

noun

: the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance (as six feet) from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease