Real Dictionary

social contract in American English
in the theories of certain political philosophers, as Locke and Rousseau, the agreement among individuals uniting for various reasons, by which organized society was begun and sets of regulations were instituted to govern interrelations of members
noun: the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the rela

social contract in British English
noun: (in the theories of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and others) an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some o