The truth of the matter is that it is a very broad term. It’s something that’s always been apart of the framework of this country yet Repubs like to pretend it is the antithesis of the Founding Father’s philosophy. Republicans have a hard time even defining the term in their OWN WORDS. That alone tells you they lack a basic understanding of the word.
Socialism may take different forms, but the definition of socialism is clear. It's central economic planning. And only government can centrally plan an economy because only government can use force to compel citizens to do things that is against our own interest.
The opposite of socialism is capitalism, which is distributed economic planning. In capitalism, government is a referee. In socialism, government is a nanny