on welfare

idiom

US
: receiving money from the government because of a low income or lack of income
a family on welfare

Examples of on welfare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Another image — of a fearsome figure with a belt cinched around his upper arm, pulling it tight with his teeth and brandishing a spoon at the gaping mouths sprouting from the skin below (to accompany another article on welfare) — was rejected, but ran later with an essay by a heroin addict. Penelope Green, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025 For center-right politicians, doing so helps their long-standing narrative that liberalized markets, stringent economic incentives, and tight limits on welfare benefits are ultimately the best economic policy mix, even for workers. Christian Odendahl, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2017 And if the foreign freeloader’s on welfare, so much the better. Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 19 Mar. 2025 Too many European governments, especially the largest, have been too slow and stingy in providing support to Kyiv either for lack of strategic conviction or decades of spending on welfare instead of their militaries. The Wall Street Journal, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for on welfare

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“On welfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20welfare. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!