diff --git a/Lib/socket.py b/Lib/socket.py
index 813f4ef..5b17906 100644
--- a/Lib/socket.py
+++ b/Lib/socket.py
@@ -804,7 +804,11 @@
                 sock.close()
 
     if err is not None:
-        raise err
+        try:
+            raise err
+        finally:
+            # Break explicitly a reference cycle
+            err = None
     else:
         raise error("getaddrinfo returns an empty list")