1321
Sodom and Gomorrah
'social work n [U] work done by government or private
organizations to improve bad social conditions and help
people in need
'social, worker n a person who is employed in SOCIAL WORK:
The police have called social workers in to help the dead man's
family.
so·ci·e·tal /sə'saɪətəl/ adj [A] of society: societal attitudes/
resources
USAGE Societal is much more limited in its use than
social. It is used about a particular society, not human
society generally, and is especially used by students of
SOCIAL SCIENCE.
so·ci·e·ty /sə'saɪəti/ n 1 [U] people in general, considered
with regard to the structure of laws, organizations etc, that
makes it possible for them to live together: Society has a
right to expect people to obey the law. | He is a danger to
society, and ought to be locked up. 2 [C,U] a particular broad
group of people who share laws, organizations, customs etc:
Such behaviour is unacceptable in a civilized society. | Britain
is a multi-racial society. | Drug abuse is one of the problems
confronting modern Western society. | He thinks greed is a
product of the consumer society. | Shopaholics are a new
problem, born of the affluent society. 3 [C] an organization or
club of people with similar aims, interests etc: She joined the
university film society. | a member of the Law Society 4 [U]
the fashionable group of people of the upper classes in a
place: At the age of 21 a girl was introduced into (high)
society. | a well-known society hostess | a society wed-
ding 5 [U] fml the companionship or presence (of other
people): He shunned the society of others, preferring to be
alone. ➔ see also BUILDING SOCIETY, FRIENDLY SOCIETY
USAGE Compare society [U] and community [C].The
community is a general expression for the people as a
whole in a particular village, town, city or area: Keep the
streets clean for the good of the community. Society is
a more general word for people considered in relation to
each other, perhaps in one country, or even in many
countries: the problems of modern society. ➔ see also
FOLK (USAGE), RACE (USAGE)
So,ciety of 'Friends, the the formal name of the QUAK-
ERS
So,ciety of 'Jesus, the the formal name of the JESUITS, a
large and respected society of Roman Catholic priests, which
was established in the 16th century by St IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
to do MISSIONARY work (=to spread the Catholic religion)
and to set up Catholic universities in many parts of the
world
socio- ➔ see WORD FORMATION TABLE
so·ci·o·bi·ol·o·gy /ˌsəsiəʊbaɪˈɒlədi, ˌsəʊʃiəʊ-/ n
[U] the study of social behaviour in animals including its
change over long periods of time and its usefulness for
making sure that the different kinds of animals continue to
exist
so·ci·o·ec·on·om·ic /ˌsəʊsiəʊˌekəˈnɒmɪk, ˌsəʊʃiə-,
-kə-/ adj based on a combination of social and
money conditions: The different classes in society are known
technically as socioeconomic groups. →-ally /-kli/ adv
so·ci·ol·o·gy /ˌsəsiˈɒlədʒi, ˌsəʊʃi-/- n [U] the scien-
tific study of societies and human behaviour in groups ➔
compare ANTHROPOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, SOCIAL SCIENCE
-gist n -gical /ˌsəsiəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌsəʃi-/- adj
-gically /kli/ adv
so·ci·o·path /səʊsiəʊpæθ, 'səʊʃiə-/ n 1 tech a person whose
habitual behaviour with and towards others is considered
unacceptable, unbalanced, and possibly dangerous ➔ com-
pare PSYCHOPATH 2 not tech a PSYCHOPATH -ic
/ˌsəʊsiəˈpæθɪk, ˌsəʊʃiə-/ adj
sock¹ /sɒk||sɑːk/ n 1 a covering of soft material for the foot
and usually part of the lower leg, usually worn inside a shoe:
My socks keep falling down. | He's wearing odd socks. (=they
do not match) | knee-length socks | ankle socks ➔ compare
STOCKING; see PAIR (USAGE) 2 pull one's socks up BrE infml
to make an effort to improve oneself, one's work etc 3 put a
sock in it humor, especially BrE to keep quiet; stop talking
sock² v [T(on)] infml 1 to strike hard: He socked his opponent on
the jaw. 2 sock it to someone old-fash to express oneself or
behave forcefully: It was a great performance; you really
socked it to them!
sock³ n [(on) usually sing.] infml a forceful blow, especially with
the closed hand: a hefty sock on the jaw
sock-et /sɒkt||'sɑː-/ n 1 a piece of plastic or other material
with holes in it, which is fixed into a wall or on to the end
of a wire, and to which electrical equipment can be con-
nected for the electricity supply: Plug the iron into that
socket, will you? 2 an opening or hollow place into which
something fits: He was so astonished that his eyes nearly fell
out of their sockets!
sock·ing /sɒkɪŋ||'sɑː-/ adv infml especially BrE extremely (big): It
had grown into a socking great tree.
'Sock Shop trademark a British company that operates small
shops selling socks, TIGHTS etc. Many towns in the UK have a
Sock Shop, and they are also in airports and large railway
stations.
Soc·ra·tes /sɒkrətiːz||'sɑːk-/ (470–399 BC) a Greek PHILOSO-
PHER from Athens, who was the teacher of PLATO and whose
ideas are known from Plato's writings. He is known for
encouraging people to think carefully about ideas before
accepting them and for developing a method of examining
ideas according to a system of questions and answers in
order to find out the truth. This is known as the Socratic
method or DIALECTIC. The Greek authorities disapproved of
his ideas and methods, and said he was a bad influence on
young people. They forced him to kill himself by drinking
HEMLOCK, a powerful poison. —Socratic /səˈkrætk/ adj
sod¹ /sɒd||sɑːd/ n BrE taboo slang 1 a stupid or annoying
person, especially a man: My boss can be an absolute sod at
times. | You sod! That was the last cake! 2 something that
causes a lot of trouble or difficulty: a sod of a job 3 not
give/care a sod not to care at all
sod² v -dd- [T usually imperative] BrE taboo slang (used for expressing
annoyance or displeasure at the stated thing or person): Sod
this radio! Why won't it work? | Oh sod it, I've missed my
train!
sod off phr v [I usually imperative] BrE taboo slang to go away: He
got angry and told me to sod off.
sod³ n [U] especially fml or lit in BrE a piece of earth with grass and
roots growing in it; TURF
so·da /ˈsədə/ n 1 [C,U] (a drink of) SODA WATER: Could you
put more soda in my Campari, please? | Two whisky and
sodas, please. | a soda siphon 2 [U] also soda pop especially BrE
for POP: a bottle of orange soda 3 [C] an ICE-CREAM SODA: A
chocolate soda, please. 4 [U] not tech SODIUM (in such phrases
as bicarbonate of soda)
'soda, cracker also cracker n AmE a small thin unsweet-
ened BISCUIT often eaten with cheese
'soda, fountain n AmE, becoming old-fash a place in a shop at
which fruit drinks, ice cream etc, are served
'soda, water also soda || also club soda AmE n [U] water
filled under pressure with gas (CARBON DIOXIDE) which gives it
a more pleasant and fresher taste
sod·den /ˈsɒdən||ˈsɑdn/ adj heavy with wetness; SOAKED: We
trudged across the sodden ground.
sod·ding /ˈsɒdɪŋ||ˈsɑ-/ adj [A] BrE taboo slang (used for giving
force to an expression, especially showing annoyance): Why
won't this sodding car start?
So·der·bergh, Ste·ven /səʊdəbɜːg||-dərbɜːrg, siː-
(1963-) an American film DIRECTOR whose films include Sex,
Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, and Traffic
'sod farm n AmE a business which grows and sells SOD
so·di·um /ˈsəʊdiəm/ n [U] a silver-white metal that is a
simple substance (ELEMENT), found in nature only in combi-
nation with other substances
,sodium bi'carbonate n [U] tech BICARBONATE
,sodium 'chloride n [U] tech for SALT
Sod·om and Go·mor·rah /sɒdəm ənd gəˈmɒrə||sɑː-
-mɔː-/ two ancient cities in the Middle East which, accord-
ing to the Old Testament of the Bible, were destroyed by
God as a punishment for the immoral sexual behaviour of
their people. The cities' names are sometimes used to
describe a place or situation where people's sexual behaviour
is regarded as very shocking.