public assistance

[puhb-lik uh-sis-tuhns] / ˈpʌb lɪk əˈsɪs təns /

NOUN

aid to needy

Synonyms

WEAK

aid to dependent children aid to the blind food stamps government aid meal ticket old-age assistance public welfare relief relief payments social welfare welfare welfare aid welfare payments

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For Americans who grimace at the thought of “big government,” this distanced Social Security from public assistance or welfare.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

Budget analysts have identified five categories that are driving up city spending: rental assistance, public assistance, the school system, city employee overtime and payments to the state-operated transit system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

According to the National Association of Counties, 40 percent of home health aides live in low-income neighborhoods and rely on some form of public assistance; 30 percent of them are on Medicaid themselves.

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2025

Yet millions of their workers, including many employed full time, have to rely on public assistance, as the Government Accountability Office reported in 2020.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2025

But she knew she couldn’t make it out on public assistance.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times