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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
screw    Audio Help   [skroo] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a metal fastener having a tapered shank with a helical thread, and topped with a slotted head, driven into wood or the like by rotating, esp. by means of a screwdriver.
2.a threaded cylindrical pin or rod with a head at one end, engaging a threaded hole and used either as a fastener or as a simple machine for applying power, as in a clamp, jack, etc. Compare bolt1 (def. 3).
3.British. a tapped or threaded hole.
4.something having a spiral form.
5.screw propeller.
6.Usually, screws. physical or mental coercion: The terrified debtor soon felt the gangster's screws.
7.a single turn of a screw.
8.a twist, turn, or twisting movement.
9.Chiefly British.
a.a little salt, sugar, tobacco, etc., carried in a twist of paper.
b.Slang. a mean, old, or worn-out horse; a horse from which one can obtain no further service.
c.Slang. a friend or employer from whom one can obtain no more money.
d.Slang. a miser.
10.British Informal. salary; wages.
11.Slang. a prison guard.
12.Slang: Vulgar.
a.an act of coitus.
b.a person viewed as a sexual partner.
–verb (used with object)
13.to fasten, tighten, force, press, stretch tight, etc., by or as if by means of a screw or device operated by a screw or helical threads.
14.to operate or adjust by a screw, as a press.
15.to attach with a screw or screws: to screw a bracket to a wall.
16.to insert, fasten, undo, or work (a screw, bolt, nut, bottle top with a helical thread, etc.) by turning.
17.to contort as by twisting; distort: Father screwed his face into a grimace of disgust.
18.to cause to become sufficiently strong or intense (usually fol. by up): I screwed up my courage to ask for a raise.
19.to coerce or threaten.
20.to extract or extort.
21.to force (a seller) to lower a price (often fol. by down).
22.Slang. to cheat or take advantage of (someone).
23.Slang: Vulgar. to have coitus with.
–verb (used without object)
24.to turn as or like a screw.
25.to be adapted for being connected, taken apart, opened, or closed by means of a screw or screws or parts with helical threads (usually fol. by on, together, or off): This top screws on easily.
26.to turn or move with a twisting or rotating motion.
27.to practice extortion.
28.Slang: Vulgar. to have coitus.
29.screw around, Slang.
a.to waste time in foolish or frivolous activity: If you'd stop screwing around we could get this job done.
b.Vulgar. to engage in promiscuous sex.
30.screw off, Slang.
a.to do nothing; loaf.
b.to leave; go away.
31.screw up, Slang.
a.to ruin through bungling or stupidity: Somehow the engineers screwed up the entire construction project.
b.to make a botch of something; blunder.
c.to make confused, anxious, or neurotic.
32.have a screw loose, Slang. to be eccentric or neurotic; have crazy ideas: You must have a screw loose to keep so many cats.
33.put the screws on, to compel by exerting pressure on; use coercion on; force: They kept putting the screws on him for more money.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME scrwe, screw(e) (n.); cf. MF escro(ue) nut, MD schrûve, MHG schrûbe screw]

screw·a·ble, adjective
screwer, noun
screwless, adjective
screwlike, adjective

20. wring, wrest, force, exact, squeeze.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
put the screws on

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
put    Audio Help   (pŏŏt)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   put, put·ting, puts

v.   tr.
  1. To place in a specified location; set: She put the books on the table.
  2. To cause to be in a specified condition: His gracious manners put me at ease.
  3. To cause (one) to undergo something; subject: The interrogators put the prisoner to torture.
  4. To assign; attribute: They put a false interpretation on events.
  5. To estimate: We put the time at five o'clock.
  6. To impose or levy: The governor has put a tax on cigarettes.
  7. Games To wager (a stake); bet: put $50 on a horse.
  8. Sports To hurl with an overhand pushing motion: put the shot.
  9. To bring up for consideration or judgment: put a question to the judge.
  10. To express; state: I put my objections bluntly.
  11. To render in a specified language or literary form: put prose into verse.
  12. To adapt: The lyrics had been put to music.
  13. To urge or force to an action: a mob that put the thief to flight.
  14. To apply: We must put our minds to it.
  15. To force the purchase of (a stock or commodity) by exercising a put option.

v.   intr.
  1. To begin to move, especially in a hurry.
  2. Nautical To proceed: The ship put into the harbor.

n.  
  1. Sports An act of putting the shot.
  2. An option to sell a stipulated amount of stock or securities within a specified time and at a fixed price.

adj.   Informal
Fixed; stationary: stay put.
Phrasal Verbs:
put about Nautical
To change or cause to change direction; go or cause to go from one tack to another.
put across
  1. To state so as to be understood clearly or accepted readily: put her views across during the hearing.
  2. To attain or carry through by deceit or trickery.
  3. To renounce; discard: put all negative thoughts away.
  4. Informal To consume (food or drink) readily and quickly: put away the dinner in just a few minutes.
  5. Informal To confine to a mental health facility.
    1. Informal To kill: The injured cat was put away.
    2. To bury.
    3. To write down.
    4. To enter in a list.
    5. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
    6. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
    7. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    8. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    9. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    10. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    11. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    12. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    13. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    14. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    15. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    16. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    17. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    18. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    19. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
    1. To write down.
    2. To enter in a list.
    3. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
    4. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
    5. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    6. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    7. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    8. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    9. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    10. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    11. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    12. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    13. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    14. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    15. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    16. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    17. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
    1. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
    2. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
    3. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    4. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    5. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    6. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    7. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    8. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    9. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    10. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    11. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    12. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    13. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    14. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    15. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
  6. To subject (an animal) to euthanasia.
  7. Slang
    1. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    2. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    3. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    4. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    5. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    6. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    7. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    8. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    9. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    10. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    11. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    12. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    13. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
    1. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    2. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    3. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    4. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    5. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    6. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    7. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    8. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    9. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    10. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
  8. To consume (food or drink) readily; put away: puts down three big meals a day.
  9. To grow: Plants put forth new growth in the spring.
  10. To bring to bear; exert: At least put forth a semblance of effort when you scrub the floor.
  11. To offer for consideration: put forth an idea.
  12. To make a formal offer of: put in a plea of guilty.
  13. To introduce, as in conversation; interpose: He put in a good word for me.
  14. To spend (time) at a location or job: I put in eight hours at the office.
  15. To plant: We put in 20 rows of pine trees.
  16. To apply: put in for early retirement.
  17. Nautical To enter a port or harbor: The freighter puts in at noon.
    1. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    2. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
    3. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    4. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    5. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    6. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    7. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    8. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
  18. To take off; discard: put off a sweater.
  19. To repel or repulse, as from bad manners: His indifferent attitude has put us off.
  20. To pass (money) or sell (merchandise) fraudulently.
  21. To clothe oneself with; don: put on a coat; put socks on.
  22. To apply; activate: put on the brakes.
  23. To assume affectedly: put on an English accent.
  24. Slang To tease or mislead (another): You're putting me on!
  25. To add: put on weight.
  26. To produce; perform: put on a variety show.
  27. To extinguish: put out a fire.
  28. Nautical To leave, as a port or harbor; depart.
  29. To expel: put out a drunk.
  30. To publish: put out a weekly newsletter.
    1. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    2. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
    3. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    4. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    5. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    6. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
  31. To make an effort.
  32. Baseball To retire a runner.
  33. Vulgar Slang To be sexually active. Used of a woman.
  34. To postpone; delay.
  35. To put across, especially to deceive: tried to put a lie over, but to no avail.
  36. To bring to a successful end: put the project through on time; put through a number of new laws.
  37. To cause to undergo: He put me through a lot of trouble.
    1. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    2. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
    3. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    4. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
  38. To erect; build.
  39. To preserve; can: put up six jars of jam.
  40. To nominate: put up a candidate at a convention.
  41. To provide (funds) in advance: put up money for the new musical.
  42. To provide lodgings for: put a friend up for the night.
  43. Sports To startle (game animals) from cover: put up grouse.
  44. To offer for sale: put up his antiques.
    1. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    2. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.

Phrasal Verb(s):
put about Nautical
To change or cause to change direction; go or cause to go from one tack to another.
put across
  1. To state so as to be understood clearly or accepted readily: put her views across during the hearing.
  2. To attain or carry through by deceit or trickery.
put away
  1. To renounce; discard: put all negative thoughts away.
  2. Informal To consume (food or drink) readily and quickly: put away the dinner in just a few minutes.
  3. Informal To confine to a mental health facility.
    1. Informal To kill: The injured cat was put away.
    2. To bury.
put by
To save for later use: "Some crops were so abundant they could even be put by" (Carole Lalli).
put down
    1. To write down.
    2. To enter in a list.
    3. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
    4. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
    5. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    6. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    7. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    8. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    9. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    1. To bring to an end; repress: put down a rebellion.
    2. To render ineffective: put down rumors.
    3. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    4. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    5. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    6. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    7. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
  1. To subject (an animal) to euthanasia.
  2. Slang
    1. To criticize: put me down for failing the course.
    2. To belittle; disparage: put down their knowledge of literature.
    3. To humiliate: "Many status games seem designed to put down others" (Alvin F. Poussaint).
    4. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    5. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
    1. To assign to a category: Just put him down as a sneak.
    2. To attribute: Let's put this disaster down to inexperience.
  3. To consume (food or drink) readily; put away: puts down three big meals a day.
put forth
  1. To grow: Plants put forth new growth in the spring.
  2. To bring to bear; exert: At least put forth a semblance of effort when you scrub the floor.
  3. To offer for consideration: put forth an idea.
put forward
To propose for consideration: put forward a new plan.
put in
  1. To make a formal offer of: put in a plea of guilty.
  2. To introduce, as in conversation; interpose: He put in a good word for me.
  3. To spend (time) at a location or job: I put in eight hours at the office.
  4. To plant: We put in 20 rows of pine trees.
  5. To apply: put in for early retirement.
  6. Nautical To enter a port or harbor: The freighter puts in at noon.
put off
    1. To delay; postpone: put off paying the bills.
    2. To persuade to delay further action: managed to put off the creditors for another week.
  1. To take off; discard: put off a sweater.
  2. To repel or repulse, as from bad manners: His indifferent attitude has put us off.
  3. To pass (money) or sell (merchandise) fraudulently.
put on
  1. To clothe oneself with; don: put on a coat; put socks on.
  2. To apply; activate: put on the brakes.
  3. To assume affectedly: put on an English accent.
  4. Slang To tease or mislead (another): You're putting me on!
  5. To add: put on weight.
  6. To produce; perform: put on a variety show.
put out
  1. To extinguish: put out a fire.
  2. Nautical To leave, as a port or harbor; depart.
  3. To expel: put out a drunk.
  4. To publish: put out a weekly newsletter.
    1. To inconvenience: Did our early arrival put you out?
    2. To offend or irritate: I was put out by his attention to the television set.
  5. To make an effort.
  6. Baseball To retire a runner.
  7. Vulgar Slang To be sexually active. Used of a woman.
put over
  1. To postpone; delay.
  2. To put across, especially to deceive: tried to put a lie over, but to no avail.
put through
  1. To bring to a successful end: put the project through on time; put through a number of new laws.
  2. To cause to undergo: He put me through a lot of trouble.
    1. To make a telephone connection for: The operator put me through on the office line.
    2. To obtain a connection for (a telephone call).
put to Nautical
To head for shore.
put together
To construct; create: put together a new bookcase; put together a tax package.
put up
  1. To erect; build.
  2. To preserve; can: put up six jars of jam.
  3. To nominate: put up a candidate at a convention.
  4. To provide (funds) in advance: put up money for the new musical.
  5. To provide lodgings for: put a friend up for the night.
  6. Sports To startle (game animals) from cover: put up grouse.
  7. To offer for sale: put up his antiques.
    1. To make a display or the appearance of: put up a bluff.
    2. To engage in; carry on: put up a good fight.
put upon
To impose on; overburden: He was always being put upon by his friends.

Idiom(s):
put an end/a halt/a stop to
To bring to an end; terminate.

Idiom(s):
put down roots
To establish a permanent residence in a locale.

Idiom(s):
put in an appearance
To attend a social engagement, especially for a short time.

Idiom(s):
put it to (someone) Slang
  1. To overburden with tasks or work.
  2. To put blame on.
  3. To take unfair advantage of.
  4. To lay out the facts of a situation to (another) in a forceful candid manner.
  5. To defeat soundly; trounce.

Idiom(s):
put (one) in mind
To remind: You put me in mind of your grandmother.

Idiom(s):
put (oneself) out
To make a considerable effort; go to trouble or expense.

Idiom(s):
put (one's) finger on
To identify: I can't put my finger on the person in that photograph.

Idiom(s):
put (one's) foot down
To take a firm stand.

Idiom(s):
put (one's) foot in (one's) mouth
To make a tactless remark.

Idiom(s):
put paid to Chiefly British
To finish off; put to rest: "We've given up saying we only kill to eat; Kraft dinner and freeze-dried food have put paid to that one" (Margaret Atwood).

Idiom(s):
put (someone) in (someone's) place
To lower the dignity of (someone); humble.

Idiom(s):
put (someone) through (someone's) paces
To cause to demonstrate ability or skill; test: The drama coach put her students through their paces before the first performance.

Idiom(s):
put (someone) up to
To cause to commit a funny, mischievous, or malicious act: My older brother put me up to making a prank telephone call.

Idiom(s):
put something over on:
To deceive, cheat, or trick.

Idiom(s):
put the arm/bite/squeeze on Slang
To ask another for money.

Idiom(s):
put the finger on Slang
To inform on: The witness put the finger on the killer.

Idiom(s):
put the make/moves on Slang
To make sexual advances to.

Idiom(s):
put the screws to/on Slang
To pressure (another) in an extreme manner.

Idiom(s):
put the skids on Slang
To bring to a halt: "Sacrificing free speech to put the skids on prurient printed matter is not the correct path, the courts said" (Curtis J. Sitomer).

Idiom(s):
put to bed Informal
  1. To make final preparations for the printing of (a newspaper, for example).
  2. To make final preparations for completing (a project).

Idiom(s):
put to it
To cause extreme difficulty for: We were put to it to finish the book on time.

Idiom(s):
put to sleep
  1. To make weary; bore.
  2. To subject to euthanasia.
  3. To subject to general anesthesia.

Idiom(s):
put two and two together
To draw the proper conclusions from existing evidence or indications.

Idiom(s):
put up or shut up Slang
To have to endure (something unpleasant) without complaining or take the action necessary to remove the source of the unpleasantry.

Idiom(s):
put up with
To endure without complaint: We had to put up with the inconvenience.

[Middle English putten, back-formation from Old English *pūtte, past tense of pȳtan, to put out.]

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Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
put the screws on
to use force or pressure in dealing with a person
Example: If he won't give us the money, we'll have to put the screws on (him).
Arabic: يَضْغَط على، يَسْتَعْمِل القُوَّه مع
Chinese (Simplified): 施加压力
Chinese (Traditional): 施加壓力
Czech: zmáčknout (ho)
Danish: give tommelskruer på
Dutch: de duimschroeven aandoen
Estonian: survet avaldama
Finnish: painostaa
French: forcer la main à
German: unter Druck setzen
Greek: ασκώ πίεση σε κπ.
Hungarian: kényszerít
Icelandic: herða að (e-m), beita þvingunum
Indonesian: menekan
Italian: (usare le maniere forti con)
Japanese: 圧力をかける
Latvian: izdarīt spiedienu; piežmiegt
Lithuanian: primygti, paspausti
Norwegian: legge press på, sette tommeskruene på
Polish: `przycisnąć`
Portuguese (Brazil): dar um aperto em
Portuguese (Portugal): pôr pressão sobre
Romanian: a forţa mâna (cuiva)
Russian: нажать
Slovak: pritlačiť k stene
Slovenian: priviti (koga)
Spanish: presionar a alguien
Swedish: dra åt tumskruvarna, öka pressen
Turkish: sıkıştırmak, zorlamak
See also: be/get screwed, screwdriver, have a screw loose, screw, screw up, screw up one's courage, "put the screws on" in any language

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
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