# socket

Pronunciation: say "SOK-it" US /ˈsɑkɪt/, UK /ˈsɒkɪt/

## Noun

1. An opening designed to receive a plug or other connecting part, such as for a light bulb.
   - Simple: An opening where you push in a plug or bulb to make it work.
   - _Each socket on the power strip can handle a single appliance._
   - _She unscrewed the old bulb and checked the socket for corrosion._
2. A hollow in a bone into which a part fits, such as an eye or, in a joint, another bone.
   - Simple: A hollow space in a bone where another part, like an eye or another bone, fits.
   - _The surgeon realigned the shoulder joint within its socket._
   - _A tooth extraction leaves an empty socket that slowly heals over._
3. A detachable, hollow metal head that fits onto a wrench and grips a bolt or nut to turn it.
   - Simple: A metal cap that fits on a wrench and grips a bolt to turn it.
   - _She snapped a half-inch socket onto the ratchet and turned the bolt._
   - _Choose a socket that matches the size of the nut exactly._
5. One endpoint of a two-way communication link, used for exchanging data between programs across a network.
   - Simple: A connection point that lets two programs send data to each other over a network.
   - _The client opens a socket and waits for the server to respond._
   - _Each socket is bound to a specific port on the machine._
6. One endpoint of a two-way named pipe on Unix and Unix-like systems, used for communication between programs.
   - Simple: On Unix systems, a connection point that lets two programs on one computer share data.
   - _On Linux, the database listens on a Unix socket rather than a network port._
   - _The daemon creates a socket in /var/run for local clients to connect._
7. The hollow part at the top of a candlestick that holds the base of the candle.
   - Simple: The small cup at the top of a candlestick that holds the candle.
   - _The brass candlestick had a tarnished socket caked with old wax._
   - _He trimmed the candle's base to fit snugly in the socket._
8. A hollow tool for grasping and lifting tools that have been dropped into a well-boring.
   - Simple: A hollow tool used to grab and lift tools that fall down a deep drilled hole.
   - _When the auger snapped off underground, the crew sent down a socket to retrieve it._
   - _The socket gripped the lost rod and the winch hauled both to the surface._
9. Steel armor mounted on a saddle as protection for a rider's thighs and legs.
   - Simple: A steel guard fixed to a saddle to protect a rider's thighs and legs.
   - _The armorer bolted a socket to the saddle to shield the rider's legs._
   - _His thighs stayed safe behind the steel socket throughout the charge._

## Verb

4. To place or fit a part into a socket.
   - Simple: To put something firmly into a socket so that it fits.
   - _Carefully socket the new processor into the motherboard._
   - _Technicians socket each tube by hand before testing the amplifier._

## Origin

From Middle English 'socket', from Anglo-Norman 'soket' ('spearhead'), a diminutive of Old French 'soc' ('plowshare'). This came through Vulgar Latin *soccus, borrowed from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *sukkos (compare Welsh 'swch', 'plowshare'), literally 'pig's snout', from Proto-Indo-European *suH-.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/socket (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).