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

Does the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Romantic notion of solitude offer a lesson for those practicing social distancing? —JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024

During the Trump presidency, Fauci was a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and served as the White House spokesperson on the pandemic, informing the public about social distancing and other public safety measures. —Melissa Cruz, USA TODAY, 5 June 2024

In any case, Fauci never had the authority to impose public health mandates — whether for masks, social distancing, vaccination or anything else. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024

That scenario made sense during the height of the COVID pandemic when social distancing was necessary for protecting public health. —Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial, The Mercury News, 4 June 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