socket

/ˈsɑkət/

/ˈsɒkɪt/

Other forms: sockets

However many people it takes to change a light bulb, at least one of them will have to unscrew the old bulb from the socket and replace it with a new one. A hollow or cavity that you insert something into is a socket.

Many people also call electrical outlets (like the one you plug a toaster into) sockets. This makes sense because you are inserting a plug into it—some purists argue that it has to be called an outlet because power comes out of it, but it's a perfectly good way to use the word. There are also anatomical sockets in our bodies, like eye sockets into which eyeballs fit neatly, and ball-and-socket joints, like hips and shoulders.

Definitions of socket

1. noun

   a receptacle into which an electric device can be inserted
   types:

   electric socket

   a socket into which a lightbulb can be inserted

   type of:

   receptacle

   an electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert
2. noun

   receptacle where something (a pipe or probe or end of a bone) is inserted
   type of:

   receptacle

   a container that is used to put or keep things in
3. noun

   a bony hollow into which a structure fits
   types:

   hip socket

   the socket part of the ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the innominate bone

   alveolus, tooth socket

   a bony socket in the alveolar ridge that holds a tooth

   acetabulum, cotyloid cavity

   the cup-shaped hollow in the hipbone into which the head of the femur fits to form a ball-and-socket joint

   type of:

   bodily cavity, cavity, cavum

   (anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body