BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ball-and-socket joint mean? 

• BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT (noun)
  The noun BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT has 2 senses:

1. a freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone

2. a joint that can rotate within a socket

  Familiarity information: BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

articulatio spheroidea; ball-and-socket joint; cotyloid joint; enarthrodial joint; enarthrosis; spheroid joint

Hypernyms ("ball-and-socket joint" is a kind of...):

articulatio synovialis; diarthrosis; synovial joint (a joint so articulated as to move freely)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ball-and-socket joint"):

articulatio humeri; shoulder; shoulder joint (a ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and a cavity of the scapula)

articulatio coxae; coxa; hip; hip joint (the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A joint that can rotate within a socket

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ball-and-socket joint" is a kind of...):

joint (junction by which parts or objects are joined together)

Meronyms (parts of "ball-and-socket joint"):

socket (receptacle where something (a pipe or probe or end of a bone) is inserted)

 Context examples 

Hips are called ball-and-socket joints because the ball-like top of your thigh bone moves within a cup-like space in your pelvis.

(Hip Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

A ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum.

(Hip Joint, NCI Thesaurus)