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Sociology vocabulary · Social Structure and Institutions

Social institution

Meaning in sociology, with examples

nounCore term

In sociology, social institution means: An established and lasting set of rules, roles and practices that organises an important area of social life, such as family, education, religion, the economy or politics.

In Turkish: toplumsal kurum, sosyal kurum

How it is used

Often shortened to institution. Textbooks list the main social institutions and ask what functions each one performs and how they are connected. Marriage is called an institution even though it has no building or address.

Example sentences

  1. Education is a social institution that both teaches skills and sorts people into future jobs.

  2. Durkheim treated religion as a social institution that binds people together.

Common collocations

  • key social institutions
  • the institution of marriage
  • religious institutions
  • institutional change
  • social structureThe relatively stable pattern of social relationships, institutions and positions in a society, which shapes and limits what individuals can do.
  • familyA group of people related by blood, marriage, partnership or adoption who usually share a home, resources and responsibility for raising children.
  • bureaucracyA large organisation run through a hierarchy of offices, written rules, specialised tasks and impersonal procedures, as described by Max Weber.
  • social roleThe set of behaviours, duties and expectations attached to a particular status, such as what people expect of a teacher, a parent or a patient.

More terms: Social Structure and Institutions

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