socket

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a hollow or receptacle into which a matching part fits

   The end of the rod slid securely into its socket.

2. 2
   noun

   an electrical outlet or holder into which a plug, bulb, or device is inserted

   She plugged the lamp into the wall socket.

3. 3
   noun

   a cavity in the body that holds an eye, tooth, or the end of a bone

   The upper arm bone fits into a shallow socket at the shoulder.

4. 4
   noun

   one endpoint through which software processes communicate, especially across a network

   The server opened a socket and waited for incoming connections.

From Middle English socket and Anglo-Norman soket, originally 'a spearhead,' a diminutive of Old French soc ('ploughshare'). The shape-based meaning broadened to a hollow or fitting that receives another part. Electrical, anatomical, and computing senses all extend that central idea of a receiving point.

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