Sock Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms sock 1 American [sok] / sɒk /

noun

plural

socks, sox

1. a short stocking usually reaching to the calf or just above the ankle.

2. a lightweight shoe worn by ancient Greek and Roman comic actors.

3. comic writing for the theater; comedy or comic drama.

4. Furniture. a raised vertical area of a club or pad foot.

5. sock puppet.

idioms

1. knock one's / the socks off. knock.

sock 2 American [sok] / sɒk /

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or hit hard.

noun

1. a hard blow.

2. a very successful show, performance, actor, etc..

   The show was a sock.

adjective

1. extremely successful.

   a sock performance.

verb phrase

1. sock in to close or ground because of adverse weather conditions.

   The airport was socked in.

2. sock away to put into savings or reserve.

sock 1 British / sɒk /

noun

1. a cloth covering for the foot, reaching to between the ankle and knee and worn inside a shoe

2. an insole put in a shoe, as to make it fit better

3. a light shoe worn by actors in ancient Greek and Roman comedy, sometimes taken to allude to comic drama in general (as in the phrase sock and buskin ) See buskin

4. another name for windsock

5. informal to make a determined effort, esp in order to regain control of a situation

6. slang be quiet!

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. (tr) to provide with socks

2. slang (of an airport) closed by adverse weather conditions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 sock 2 British / sɒk /

verb

1. (usually tr) to hit with force

2. to make a forceful impression on

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. a forceful blow

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is a basic definition of sock? A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the foot that usually extends to around the ankle. As a verb, sock means to hit hard. The word sock has a few other senses as a noun and an adjective.A sock is worn on the foot and is almost always made of cloth, such as cotton or wool. It usually covers the entire foot and stretches to around the ankle but may sometimes extend higher. Socks are almost always made or sold in pairs, in order to cover both feet.The plural of sock is socks or, rarely, sox. Sox rarely appears in formal writing with two exceptions: The names of the American baseball teams the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox (Go Sox!).

• Real-life examples: You are probably wearing a pair of socks right now. Soccer players wear knee-high socks. Most people don’t wear socks while wearing sandals.
• Used in a sentence: Whenever I do laundry, I somehow end up with a leftover sock.

As a verb, sock means to hit something or someone really hard. This sense of sock can be used literally or figuratively.

• Used in a sentence: I watched as the boxer was socked right in the jaw and fell down.

In this sense, sock can also refer to a hard hit.

• Used in a sentence: After the boxer got a sock in the jaw, he fell down.

Other Word Forms

• sockless adjective
• socklessness noun

Etymology

Origin of sock1

First recorded before 900; Middle English sok, socke, Old English socc “light shoe, slipper, stocking,” from Latin soccus

Origin of sock2

First recorded in 1690–1700; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I donned rainbow hair, medical knee braces and prescription compression socks to my surgery date.

From The Wall Street Journal

But now Dad expects me to live with Andre and his gross socks all the time?

From Literature

"It still managed to have its sock on the foot which is quite funny."

From BBC

But this time, there’d be no Pili to stop the big kids from stealing his socks or to talk to after he woke up from a nightmare.

From Literature

Sunday night I got my clothes ready for the next morning: black jeans, black T-shirt, black socks.

From Literature

Related Words

• belt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.