Sorceries are one-shot spells. You can cast a sorcery only during your own main phase, when the stack is empty and you have priority. Timing restrictions make them deliberate: opponents see them coming, but you choose the moment. Once a sorcery resolves, it goes to its owner's graveyard—there is no permanent on the battlefield to protect or attack with.
In decks, sorceries provide some of the game's most efficient effects: drawing cards, destroying creatures, clearing the board, searching libraries, or burning opponents. They trade card-for-card, so timing and sequencing matter. Because they cannot be cast in response, sorceries reward planning ahead, and they often define a deck's plan by what they do at sorcery speed.
