A multiaxial synovial joint

in which a more or less extensive sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bone. Synonym(s): cotyloid joint, enarthrodial joint, enarthrosis, spheroid joint.

What type of joint is the hip?

The hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint that allows motion and gives stability needed to bear body weight. The socket area (acetabulum) is inside the pelvis. The ball part of this joint is the top of the thighbone (femur). It joins with the acetabulum to form the hip joint.

What is a ball-and-socket joint?

ball-and-socket joint, also called spheroidal joint, in vertebrate anatomy, a joint in which the rounded surface of a bone moves within a depression on another bone, allowing greater freedom of movement than any other kind of joint.