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social capital

Definition of Social Capital

(noun) The social networks or connections that an individual has available to them due group membership.

Etymology of Social Capital

Social Capital Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: so·cial cap·i·tal

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /sOH-shuhl kAp-uht-l/
  • British English – /sOH-shuhl kAp-itl/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈkæpətəl/
  • British English – /ˈsəʊʃəl ˈkæpɪtl/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: social capitals
  • Nepotism is a manifestation of social capital.

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Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Clarke, Alan. 2010. The Sociology of Healthcare. 2nd ed. Harlow, England: Longman.

Dillon, Michele. 2014. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the Twenty-first Century. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Ritzer, George, and J. Michael Ryan, eds. 2011. The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).

Cite the Definition of Social Capital

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2016. “social capital.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/social-capital/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

social capital. (2016). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/social-capital/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2016. “social capital.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/social-capital/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“social capital.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/social-capital/>.