put a sock in it
"put-a-sock-in-it" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“put a sock in it” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To stop talking; to be quiet; to shut one's mouth.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | put a sock in it |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “put a sock in it” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
put a sock in it is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To stop talking; to be quiet; to shut one's mouth.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for put a sock in it in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly from a crude means of muffling a record player's speaker. The correct English form is put a sock in it, spelled P-U-T- -A- -S-O-C-K- -I-N- -I-T.
Definition
- 1To stop talking; to be quiet; to shut one's mouth.
Etymology
Possibly from a crude means of muffling a record player's speaker.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "put a sock in it"?
What does "put a sock in it" mean?
What is the origin of the word "put a sock in it"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “put a sock in it”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-U-T- -A- -S-O-C-K- -I-N- -I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.