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Noun: ball-and-socket joint  'bol-un'só-kit joynt
  1. A joint that can rotate within a socket
    "The hip's ball-and-socket joint allows for a wide range of motion"
     
  2. A freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone
    "The shoulder is an example of a ball-and-socket joint, allowing for a wide range of motion";
    - spheroid joint, cotyloid joint, enarthrodial joint, enarthrosis, articulatio spheroidea

Derived forms: ball-and-socket joints

Type of: articulatio synovialis, diarthrosis, joint, synovial joint

Encyclopedia: Ball-and-socket joint