: 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
Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
Cheaper options or knock-offs tend to come with flimsy sockets, buzzing ballasts, or unreliable switches, which can make rooms look cheap or dated far sooner than expected and even create fire hazards.
—Lauren Bengtson, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 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 Epicka Universal Travel Adapter is a T+L favorite overall pick due to its four different plug types that are compatible with over 200 sockets worldwide and its ability to charge up to six devices at once.
—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
Cheaper options or knock-offs tend to come with flimsy sockets, buzzing ballasts, or unreliable switches, which can make rooms look cheap or dated far sooner than expected and even create fire hazards.
—Lauren Bengtson, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 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 4 Nov. 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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