socket

1 of 2

noun

sock·​et ˈsä-kət 

: an opening or hollow that forms a holder for something

an electric bulb socket

the eye socket

socket

2 of 2

verb

socketed; socketing; sockets

transitive verb

: to provide with or support in or by a socket

Examples of socket in a Sentence

Noun

She plugged the lamp into the socket.

He screwed the light bulb into the socket.

His shoulder popped out of its socket.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

To add extra definition to eyes, add a line of contour into sockets and underneath the lower lashline. —Georgia Day, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2023

Back in 2020, Lian Li received a US patent that describes a similar design to connecting PC fans side-by-side through their power sockets. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 14 Sep. 2023

Your eyes are rolling clear out of their sockets as Sean Penn publicly loses his temper for the fifth consecutive decade. —Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 13 Sep. 2023

There was a fake eyeball in the left socket and about a half-dozen original teeth still attached, but the jaw was missing. —Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023

However, the tradeoff is a ride so stiff that hitting a pothole will basically bounce your eyeballs loose from their sockets. —Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, 30 Aug. 2023

Separate the muscles that hold the eyeball inside its socket; make a delicate cut in the conjunctiva, the mucous membrane that covers the eye. —Amit Katwala, WIRED, 22 Aug. 2023

Ball and socket joints are extremely mobile, and the hip can move in six different directions. —Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 7 Sep. 2023

In a photo shared by the Goodyear Police Department, the skull is withered, with what appears to be a prosthetic blue eye attached to the right socket. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2023

Verb

Pinch off the fuel line with a pair of locking pliers, place a piece of shop towel under the carburetor to catch spilled fuel, and use a socket wrench and socket to remove the carburetor’s float bowl. —Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 17 Mar. 2023

Pinch off the fuel line with a pair of locking pliers, place a piece of shop towel under the carburetor to catch spilled fuel, and use a socket wrench and socket to remove the carburetor’s float bowl. —Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 17 Mar. 2023

Instead, three four-bay modules are socketed into the base-model chassis' nine 5.25-inch open bays. —Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 8 July 2019

This processor is paired with up to 64GB socketed, user-serviceable RAM. —Peter Bright, Ars Technica, 23 Nov. 2018

The processor is socketed, along with some other components, but the machine was not designed to be upgraded or serviced in this way. —Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 14 Dec. 2017

Men who couldn’t handle a drill and socket wrench if their lives depended on it love a good duct tape challenge. —Southern Living, 1 May 2017

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English soket, from Anglo-French, diminutive of soc plowshare, of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Irish soc plowshare, snout; akin to Old English sugu sow — more at sow

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1533, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing socket

• eye socket
• socket wrench
• ball-and-socket joint

• eye socket
• socket wrench
• ball-and-socket joint

Kids Definition

socket

noun

sock·​et

ˈsäk-ət

: an opening or hollow that forms a holder for something

the eye socket

screwed the light bulb into the socket

Medical Definition

socket

noun

sock·​et ˈsäk-ət 

: an opening or hollow that forms a holder for something: as

a

: any of various hollows in body structures in which some other part normally lodges

the bony socket of the eye

an inflamed tooth socket

especially : the depression in a bone with which the rounded head of another bone fits in a ball-and-socket joint

b

: a cavity terminating an artificial limb into which the bodily stump fits see suction socket