: an opening or hollow that forms a holder for something
an electric bulb socket
the eye socket
socketed; socketing; sockets
: 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
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025
Keep Light Bulbs From Sticking Outdoor light bulbs can have a knack for sticking in the socket after long periods of time, leaving you with the task of trying to unscrew a stubborn bulb without breaking the glass.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 June 2025
Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 21 Nov. 2024
That’s major, since the shoulder is a ball and socket joint—and the most mobile one in your body.
—Elizabeth Millard, Cpt, SELF, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for socket
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Noun
This simply pops into the unit, then kicks over when the feeder has no socket power.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2025
Keep Light Bulbs From Sticking Outdoor light bulbs can have a knack for sticking in the socket after long periods of time, leaving you with the task of trying to unscrew a stubborn bulb without breaking the glass.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 June 2025
Verb
The puppets are still made the old-fashioned way at Aardman: clay in combination with silicone with ball and socket armatures on the inside.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 21 Nov. 2024
That’s major, since the shoulder is a ball and socket joint—and the most mobile one in your body.
—Elizabeth Millard, Cpt, SELF, 19 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for socket
Cite this Entry
“Socket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socket. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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