sock
1 Americannoun
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socks,
plural
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sox
plural
-
a short stocking usually reaching to the calf or just above the ankle.
-
a lightweight shoe worn by ancient Greek and Roman comic actors.
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comic writing for the theater; comedy or comic drama.
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Furniture. a raised vertical area of a club or pad foot.
idioms
verb (used with object)
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socks,
present (3rd person singular)
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socked,
past participle, past
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socking
present participle
noun
-
a hard blow.
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a very successful show, performance, actor, etc..
The show was a sock.
adjective
verb phrase
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sock in to close or ground because of adverse weather conditions.
The airport was socked in.
-
sock away to put into savings or reserve.
noun
-
a cloth covering for the foot, reaching to between the ankle and knee and worn inside a shoe
-
an insole put in a shoe, as to make it fit better
-
a light shoe worn by actors in ancient Greek and Roman comedy, sometimes taken to allude to comic drama in general (as in the phrase sock and buskin ) See buskin
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another name for windsock
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informal to make a determined effort, esp in order to regain control of a situation
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slang be quiet!
verb
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(tr) to provide with socks
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slang (of an airport) closed by adverse weather conditions
verb
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(usually tr) to hit with force
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to make a forceful impression on
noun
Usage
What is a basic definition of sock? A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the foot that usually extends to around the ankle. As a verb, sock means to hit hard. The word sock has a few other senses as a noun and an adjective. A sock is worn on the foot and is almost always made of cloth, such as cotton or wool. It usually covers the entire foot and stretches to around the ankle but may sometimes extend higher. Socks are almost always made or sold in pairs, in order to cover both feet. The plural of sock is socks or, rarely, sox. Sox rarely appears in formal writing with two exceptions: The names of the American baseball teams the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox (Go Sox!).
- Real-life examples: You are probably wearing a pair of socks right now. Soccer players wear knee-high socks. Most people don’t wear socks while wearing sandals.
- Used in a sentence: Whenever I do laundry, I somehow end up with a leftover sock.
- Used in a sentence: I watched as the boxer was socked right in the jaw and fell down.
- Used in a sentence: After the boxer got a sock in the jaw, he fell down.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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socksimple
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sockssimple
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have sockedperfect
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has sockedperfect
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am sockingprogressive
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are sockingprogressive
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is sockingprogressive
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have been sockingperfect progressive
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has been sockingperfect progressive
Past
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sockedsimple
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had sockedperfect
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was sockingprogressive
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were sockingprogressive
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had been sockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sock1
First recorded before 900; Middle English sok, socke, Old English socc “light shoe, slipper, stocking,” from Latin soccus
Origin of sock2
First recorded in 1690–1700; origin uncertain
Explanation
A sock is a piece of clothing you wear on your foot, under your shoe, and socks usually come in pairs. You can wear only one sock if you like, but your other foot might get jealous. Some socks barely cover the foot, while others reach up over the knee. When you sock someone, it has nothing to do with footwear; you punch them. If something "knocks your socks off," it makes you extremely enthusiastic or excited, and if your brother tells you to "put a sock in it," he means "be quiet."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it also helps us understand why a crumpled sock in the middle of the living room or dirty dishes on the kitchen counter makes the exhausted woman in your life crash out.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
Stokes came to the post-match media conference with blood seeping through his sock.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Higher borrowing costs would sock it to home buyers, heavy credit-card users and anyone needing a loan.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
The founder of sock maker Bombas, David Heath, got a tattoo—of the Bombas logo and its motto—after the company donated its millionth pair of socks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Mary worked at her spinning wheel; Lizza knitted a sock.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
However, any toy promo from McDonald’s in December would have a high bar to clear after last year’s “Grinch”-themed socks, available with a “Grinch”-themed meal, sold quickly.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
During our first three days in Irdning, they had worked their socks off.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Guests’ left-behind socks and T-shirts surface weeks later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
As insurance, I tuck my shirt in, pull my socks over my pant legs, and wear ankle-covering gaiters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
He saw Anastasia's socks and his dad's pajamas.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
It was the first time a Yankee starter allowed four homers since James Paxton on July 26, 2019, at Fenway Park against the Boston Red sox.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2021
On August 18, 2017, a new age in astronomy dawned, appropriately, with a tweet: “New LIGO. Source with optical counterpart. Blow your sox off!”
From Scientific American ● Aug. 21, 2019
On 18 August, astronomer J. Craig Wheeler of the University of Texas at Austin began the public rumour mill when he tweeted, “New LIGO. Source with optical counterpart. Blow your sox off!”
From Nature ● Aug. 23, 2017
He confessed in 1951 about the overload, “Two drawers are full, so I’m moving my sox over.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2015
The commonest kind of sense teaches one that the old lady is in error, and "sox" clearly correct.
From The Citizen-Soldier or, Memoirs of a Volunteer by John Beatty
Although Bass brought in more money, Raman had a larger amount socked away for the final days of the campaign, according to the filings submitted this week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
It was admirable that Wemby played chess and devoured paperbacks, but what was going to happen in crunch time, when an opponent socked him in the gut and tried to shake him?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Vietnamese savers have socked away around 400 tonnes of the precious metal at home, according to government auditors.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
The Angels, as a whole, socked 19 home runs across the eight-game stretch — the power appeared to help them surge to third place in a division more than up for grabs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2025
He put up his rather large, socked feet on the filthy coffee table.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Persistent inflation also means Americans are socking away less for retirement or a rainy day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The Los Angeles City Council signed off on a $15-billion budget for 2026-27 on Thursday, preserving Mayor Karen Bass’ police hiring plan while socking away more money for potential emergencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
You say you don’t have any money saved, but when you start socking away funds — which you should do as soon as possible — I’d recommend getting a high-yield savings account.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
Lenders in countries as far away as Germany and Japan are socking away hundreds of millions of dollars in anticipation of loans going bad.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2024
The snow came down with hard gusts, socking the sides of the pickup and blotting out the windshield.
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
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