sock

¹ American  

[sok] / sɒk /

noun

socks, plural sox plural

1. a short stocking usually reaching to the calf or just above the ankle.

2. a lightweight shoe worn by ancient Greek and Roman comic actors.

3. comic writing for the theater; comedy or comic drama.

4. Furniture. a raised vertical area of a club or pad foot.

5. sock puppet.

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idioms

1. knock one's / the socks off. knock.

sock ² American  

[sok] / sɒk /

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or hit hard.

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noun

1. a hard blow.

2. a very successful show, performance, actor, etc..

   The show was a sock.

adjective

1. extremely successful.

   a sock performance.

verb phrase

1. sock in to close or ground because of adverse weather conditions.

   The airport was socked in.

2. sock away to put into savings or reserve.

sock ¹ British  

/ sɒk /

noun

1. a cloth covering for the foot, reaching to between the ankle and knee and worn inside a shoe

2. an insole put in a shoe, as to make it fit better

3. 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

4. another name for windsock

5. informal to make a determined effort, esp in order to regain control of a situation

6. slang be quiet!

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with socks

2. slang (of an airport) closed by adverse weather conditions

sock ² British  

/ sɒk /

verb

1. (usually tr) to hit with force

2. to make a forceful impression on

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noun

1. a forceful blow

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.

As a verb, sock means to hit something or someone really hard. This sense of sock can be used literally or figuratively.

• Used in a sentence: I watched as the boxer was socked right in the jaw and fell down.

In this sense, sock can also refer to a hard hit.

• Used in a sentence: After the boxer got a sock in the jaw, he fell down.

Other Word Forms

• sockless
  adjective
• socklessness
  noun

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

One smart strategy is to count out six months of expenses and sock that away, then line up more to keep depositing into that account as time rolls forward.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

Sometimes a tall sock and a short one; sometimes a Paw Patrol relic from toddlerhood.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Asked whether he would indeed be the president's sock puppet, Warsh said: "Absolutely not."

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

One kind and patient spectator conscripted to play the school counselor had to remove her shoe to improvise a sock puppet, one of the tools of her empathetic practice.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

“Yes. Maybe. My sock is wet, so I just wanted to be sure.”

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• belt