# socket

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɒkɪt/ · frequency rank #14,635

## Definitions
1. Any of various concave objects (or portions of larger objects) that envelop a counterpart object.
2. Any of various concave objects (or portions of larger objects) that envelop a counterpart object.
3. Any of various concave objects (or portions of larger objects) that envelop a counterpart object.
4. Any of various concave objects (or portions of larger objects) that envelop a counterpart object.
5. Any of various concave objects (or portions of larger objects) that envelop a counterpart object.
6. One endpoint of a two-way communication link, used for interprocess communication across a network.
7. One endpoint of a two-way named pipe on Unix and Unix-like systems, used for interprocess communication.
8. A steel apparatus attached to a saddle to protect the thighs and legs.

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

## Easily confused with
- **socks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-socks)
- **soviet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-soviet)
- **sucker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-sucker)
- **sonnet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-sonnet)
- **sorbet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-sorbet)
- **stocked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-stocked)
- **sprocket** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/socket-vs-sprocket)
- **sock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sock-vs-socket)
- **secret** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/secret-vs-socket)
- **soccer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soccer-vs-socket)
- **sacked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sacked-vs-socket)
- **soaked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soaked-vs-socket)
- **sicker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sicker-vs-socket)
- **society** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/society-vs-socket)
- **shocked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shocked-vs-socket)
- **shocker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shocker-vs-socket)

## Common misspellings (9)
`oscket`, `scoket`, `soccket`, `socekt`, `sockett`, `sockket`, `sockte`, `sokcet`, `ssocket`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/socket