SOCKET

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does socket mean? 

• SOCKET (noun)
  The noun SOCKET has 3 senses:

1. a bony hollow into which a structure fits

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

3. a receptacle into which an electric device can be inserted

  Familiarity information: SOCKET used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SOCKET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A bony hollow into which a structure fits

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("socket" is a kind of...):

bodily cavity; cavity; cavum ((anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "socket"):

hip socket (the socket part of the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the innominate bone)

alveolus; tooth socket (a bony socket in the alveolar ridge that holds a tooth)

acetabulum; cotyloid cavity (the cup-shaped hollow in the hipbone into which the head of the femur fits to form a ball-and-socket joint)

Holonyms ("socket" is a part of...):

bone; os (rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("socket" is a kind of...):

receptacle (a container that is used to put or keep things in)

Holonyms ("socket" is a part of...):

ball-and-socket joint (a joint that can rotate within a socket)

box end wrench; box wrench (a wrench with a closed loop (a socket) that fits over a nut or bolt head)

socket wrench (a wrench with a handle onto which sockets of different sizes can be fitted)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A receptacle into which an electric device can be inserted

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("socket" is a kind of...):

receptacle (an electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "socket"):

electric socket (a socket into which a lightbulb can be inserted)

 Context examples 

“Oh, you say that, do you?” said the driver, putting his whip into its socket and pulling off his driving-gloves.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The thickened bony structures in the mandible and maxilla that contain the sockets of the teeth.

(Alveolar Ridge, NCI Thesaurus)

The surgical removal of a tooth from its bony socket.

(Extraction of Tooth, NCI Thesaurus)

Here the socket of the candle dropped, and the wick went out.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

A condition in which a tooth is so crowded in its socket that it cannot erupt normally.

(Impaction, NCI Thesaurus)

A protrusion of the eyeball from the socket.

(Exophthalmos, NCI Thesaurus)

Because a man-made hip is smaller than the original joint, the ball can come out of its socket.

(Hip Replacement, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

The lacrimal glands are found in the upper, outer part of each eye socket.

(Lacrimal gland, NCI Dictionary)

They worked harshly in their sockets, with much friction, and each bending or unbending was accomplished only through a sheer exertion of will.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

An examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)