socket

American  

[sok-it] / ˈsɒk ɪt /

noun

1. a hollow part or piece for receiving and holding some part or thing.

2. Electricity.

   1. a device intended to hold an electric light bulb mechanically and connect it electrically to circuit wires.

   2. Also called wall socket.  a socket placed in a wall to receive a plug that makes an electrical connection with supply wiring.

3. Anatomy.

   1. a hollow in one part that receives another part.

      the socket of the eye.

   2. the concavity of a joint.

      the socket of the hip.

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verb (used with object)

1. to place in or fit with a socket.

socket British  

/ ˈsɒkɪt /

noun

1. a device into which an electric plug can be inserted in order to make a connection in a circuit

2. US and Canadian name: outlet.  Informal Brit names: point.   plug.  such a device mounted on a wall and connected to the electricity supply

3. a part with an opening or hollow into which some other part, such as a pipe, probe, etc, can be fitted

4. a spanner head having a recess suitable to be fitted over the head of a bolt and a keyway into which a wrench can be fitted

5. anatomy

   1. a bony hollow into which a part or structure fits

      a tooth socket

      an eye socket

   2. the receptacle of a ball-and-socket joint

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verb

1. (tr) to furnish with or place into a socket

Other Word Forms

• socketless adjective
• unsocketed adjective

Etymology

Origin of socket

1300–50; Middle English soket < Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French soc plowshare (< Gaulish *soccos; compare Welsh swch, Old Irish socc ) + -et -et

Explanation

However many people it takes to change a light bulb, at least one of them will have to unscrew the old bulb from the socket and replace it with a new one. A hollow or cavity that you insert something into is a socket. Many people also call electrical outlets (like the one you plug a toaster into) sockets. This makes sense because you are inserting a plug into it—some purists argue that it has to be called an outlet because power comes out of it, but it's a perfectly good way to use the word. There are also anatomical sockets in our bodies, like eye sockets into which eyeballs fit neatly, and ball-and-socket joints, like hips and shoulders.

Example Sentences

Featuring illuminated eyes in the film, and with original wiring in the right socket, this particular C-3PO head boasts several unique features including a forehead antenna.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Preserved in nearly perfect three-dimensional detail, the skeleton includes a skull with a huge eye socket and an elongated, sword-like snout.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

He needed to get it onto a two-foot-long metal rod called a socket extension.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

The skull has an enormous eye socket and a long sword-like snout that it used to eat fish and squid.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025

Wisely, it turned out, for as he dropped a last pinch of sand into the fourth socket and stood back, he found Pai at his elbow.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Related Words

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