ball-and-socket joint

[ bawl-uhn sok-it ]

/ ˈbɔl ən ˈsɒk ɪt /

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noun

Also called enarthrosis. Anatomy, Zoology. a joint in which the rounded end of one bone fits into a cuplike end of the other bone, allowing for relatively free rotary motion, as at the hip or shoulder.

Also called ball joint. a similar joint between rods, links, pipes, etc., consisting of a ball-like termination on one part held within a concave, spherical socket on the other.

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Origin of ball-and-socket joint

First recorded in 1660–70

Words nearby ball-and-socket joint

ball ammunition, Ballance, ball and chain, ball-and-claw foot, ball and ring, ball-and-socket joint, Ballantyne, Ballarat, Ballard, Ballardian, ballas

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ball-and-socket joint in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One of the kids had a ball in his hand, and Cuomo took it and tossed it back and forth to an eight year old.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I went to his joint once, back when I was first hanging out in New York, doing plays.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Instead of going for the hole, I hit the ball directly into the water.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
It was little better than coal dust, and would not carry a ball fifty paces to kill or wound.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
A view of the duchess's ball-room, or of the dining-table of the earl, will supersede all occasion for lengthy fiddle-faddle.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ball-and-socket joint

ball-and-socket joint

ball joint

noun

a coupling between two rods, tubes, etc, that consists of a spherical part fitting into a spherical socket, allowing free movement within a specific conical volume

Also called: multiaxial joint anatomy a bony joint, such as the hip joint, in which a rounded head fits into a rounded cavity, allowing a wide range of movement

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

Scientific definitions for ball-and-socket joint

ball-and-socket joint

[ bôl′ən-sŏk′ĭt ]

A joint, such as the shoulder or hip joint, in which a spherical knob or knoblike part of one bone fits into a cavity or socket of another, so that some degree of rotary motion is possible in every direction.

A mechanical device consisting of a spherical knob at the end of a shaft that fits securely into a socket. Ball-and-socket joints are used to connect parts of a machine that require rotary movement in nearly all directions. Ball-and-socket joints allow the front wheels of a car to be turned by the steering mechanism.