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sock

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "sock", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sock" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sock" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

sock is aEnglishnoun. It means: A knitted or woven covering for the foot. Pronounced /sɒk/. Often confused with son and sox.

Key facts for sock
PropertyValue
Headwordsock
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɒk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#12,864
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of sock in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sock is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɒk/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,864 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for sock, with forms such as "osck", "scok", and "socck". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "son", "sox", "sol", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English socke, sokke, sok, from Old English socc (“sock, light shoe, slipper”), a West Germanic borrowing from Latin soccus (“a light shoe or slipper, buskin”), from Ancient Greek σύκχος (súkkhos, “a kind of shoe”), probably from Phrygian or fro… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sock, spelled S-O-C-K, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A knitted or woven covering for the foot.
  2. 2
    Synonym of soccus, a light shoe worn by Ancient Greek and Roman comedic actors.
  3. 3
    The lower leg of an animal (of an animal) that is a different color (usually white) from the color pattern on the rest of the animal.
  4. 4
    A sleeve for a microphone to reduce noise.
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of gun sock.
  6. 6
    Ellipsis of sock puppet.
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of windsock.

Etymology

From Middle English socke, sokke, sok, from Old English socc (“sock, light shoe, slipper”), a West Germanic borrowing from Latin soccus (“a light shoe or slipper, buskin”), from Ancient Greek σύκχος (súkkhos, “a kind of shoe”), probably from Phrygian or from an Anatolian language. Beekes compares Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬑𐬀 (haxa, “sole of the foot”). Cognate with Scots sok (“sock, stocking”), West Frisian sok (“sock”), Dutch sok (“sock”), German Socke (“sock”), Danish sok, sokke (“sock”), Swedish sock, socka (“sock”), Icelandic sokkur (“sock”). Doublet of zocco; also related to zoccolo, socle, and zocalo.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: osck,scok,socck,sockk,sokc,ssock

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for sock

Misspelling Variants of "sock"

osck4scok4socck5sockk5sokc4ssock5
Misspelling Variants of "sock"

Frequency rank: #12,864 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sock"?
"sock" is spelled S-O-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /sɒk/.
What does "sock" mean?
As a noun, "sock" means: A knitted or woven covering for the foot.
What words are commonly confused with "sock"?
"sock" is commonly confused with "son", "sox", "sol". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sock"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sock" is /sɒk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sock"?
From Middle English socke, sokke, sok, from Old English socc (“sock, light shoe, slipper”), a West Germanic borrowing from Latin soccus (“a light shoe or slipper, buskin”), from Ancient Greek σύκχος (súkkhos, “a kind of shoe”), probably from Phryg... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.