socket

[ sok-it ]
See synonyms for: socketsocketed on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a hollow part or piece for receiving and holding some part or thing.

  2. Electricity.

    • a device intended to hold an electric light bulb mechanically and connect it electrically to circuit wires.

    • Also called wall socket. a socket placed in a wall to receive a plug that makes an electrical connection with supply wiring.

  1. Anatomy.

    • a hollow in one part that receives another part: the socket of the eye.

    • the concavity of a joint: the socket of the hip.

verb (used with object)
  1. to place in or fit with a socket.

Origin of socket

1
1300–50; Middle English soket<Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French soc plowshare (<Gaulish *soccos; compare Welsh swch,Old Irish socc) + -et-et

Other words from socket

  • sock·et·less, adjective
  • un·sock·et·ed, adjective

Words Nearby socket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use socket in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for socket

socket

/ (ˈsɒkɪt) /


noun
  1. a device into which an electric plug can be inserted in order to make a connection in a circuit

  2. mainly British such a device mounted on a wall and connected to the electricity supply: Informal Brit names: point, plug US and Canadian name: outlet

  1. a part with an opening or hollow into which some other part, such as a pipe, probe, etc, can be fitted

  2. a spanner head having a recess suitable to be fitted over the head of a bolt and a keyway into which a wrench can be fitted

  3. anatomy

    • a bony hollow into which a part or structure fits: a tooth socket; an eye socket

    • the receptacle of a ball-and-socket joint

verb
  1. (tr) to furnish with or place into a socket

Origin of socket

1
C13: from Anglo-Norman soket a little ploughshare, from soc, of Celtic origin; compare Cornish soch ploughshare

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012