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).
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.
BritishInformal. 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.
—Verb phrases
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.
—Idioms
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]
A cylindrical rod incised with one or more helical or advancing spiral threads, as a lead screw or worm screw.
The tapped collar or socket that receives this rod.
A tapered and pointed wood screw.
A cylindrical and flat-tipped machine screw.
A prison guard.
The turnkey of a jail.
Salary; wages.
A small paper packet, as of tobacco.
An old broken-down horse.
A stingy or crafty bargainer.
A metal pin with incised threads and a broad slotted head that can be driven as a fastener by turning with a screwdriver, especially:
A tapered and pointed wood screw.
A cylindrical and flat-tipped machine screw.
A prison guard.
The turnkey of a jail.
Salary; wages.
A small paper packet, as of tobacco.
An old broken-down horse.
A stingy or crafty bargainer.
A device having a helical form, such as a corkscrew.
A propeller.
A twist or turn of or as if of a screw.
Slang
A prison guard.
The turnkey of a jail.
Salary; wages.
A small paper packet, as of tobacco.
An old broken-down horse.
A stingy or crafty bargainer.
Vulgar Slang The act or an instance of having sexual intercourse.
Chiefly British Slang
Salary; wages.
A small paper packet, as of tobacco.
An old broken-down horse.
A stingy or crafty bargainer.
v.
screwed, screw·ing, screws
v.
tr.
To drive or tighten (a screw).
To fasten, tighten, or attach by or as if by means of a screw.
To attach (a tapped or threaded fitting or cap) by twisting into place.
To rotate (a part) on a threaded axis.
To contort (one's face).
Slang
To take advantage of; cheat: screwed me out of the most lucrative sales territory.
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
v.
intr.
To turn or twist.
To become attached by means of the threads of a screw.
To be capable of such attachment.
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.
Slang To act or fool around aimlessly or in a confused way and accomplish nothing.
Vulgar Slang To be sexually promiscuous.
To muster or summon up: screwed up my courage.
Slang To make a mess of (an undertaking).
Slang To injure; damage: Lifting those boxes really screwed up my back.
Slang To make neurotic or anxious.
Phrasal Verb(s): screw around
Slang To act or fool around aimlessly or in a confused way and accomplish nothing.
Vulgar Slang To be sexually promiscuous.
screw up
To muster or summon up: screwed up my courage.
Slang To make a mess of (an undertaking).
Slang To injure; damage: Lifting those boxes really screwed up my back.
Slang To make neurotic or anxious.
Idiom(s):
have a screw loose Slang
To behave in an eccentric manner.
To be insane.
[Middle English skrewe, from Old French escrove, female screw, nut, perhaps from Medieval Latin scrōfa, from Latin, sow; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.]
1404, from M.Fr. escroue "nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole," of uncertain etymology; not found in other Romanic languages. Perhaps via Gallo-Romance *scroba or W.Gmc. *scruva from V.L. scrobis "screw-head groove," in classical L. "ditch, trench," also "vagina" (Diez, though OED finds this "phonologically impossible"). Kluge and others trace it to L. scrofa "breeding sow," perhaps based on the shape of a pig's tail (cf. Port. porca, Sp. perca "a female screw," from L. porca "sow"). A group of apparently cognate Gmc. words (M.L.G., M.Du. schruve, Du. schroef, Ger. Schraube, Swed. skrufva "screw") often are said to be Fr. loan-words. Sense of "means of pressure or coercion" is from 1648, probably in ref. to instruments of torture (e.g. thumbscrews). Meaning "prison guard, warden" is 1812 in underworld slang, originally in reference to the key they carried. To have a screw loose "have a dangerous (usually mental) weakness" is recorded from 1810. Screwy (1820) originally meant "tipsy, slightly drunk;" sense of "crazy, ridiculous" first recorded 1887.
"to twist (something) like a screw," 1599, from screw (n.). Slang meaning "to copulate" dates from at least 1725, on the notion of driving a screw into something. Meaning "a prostitute" also is attested from 1725. Slang meaning "an act of copulation" (n.) is recorded from 1929. First recorded 1949 in exclamations as a euphemism.
a simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole
3.
a propeller with several angled blades that rotates to push against water or air
4.
a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head
5.
slang for sexual intercourse
verb
1.
have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?" [syn: sleep together]
2.
turn like a screw
3.
cause to penetrate, as with a circular motion; "drive in screws or bolts"
4.
tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions; "Screw the bottle cap on" [ant: unscrew]
5.
defeat someone through trickery or deceit [syn: cheat]
screwjargon (MIT) A lose, usually in software. Especially used for user-visible misbehaviour caused by a bug or misfeature. This use has become quite widespread outside MIT. [The Jargon File] (1994-12-01)
n. [MIT] A lose, usually in software. Especially used for user-visible misbehavior caused by a bug or misfeature. This use has become quite widespread outside MIT.
Bean\ (b[=e]n), n. [OE. bene, AS. be['a]n; akin to D. boon, G. bohne, OHG. p[=o]na, Icel. baun, Dan. b["o]nne, Sw. b["o]na, and perh. to Russ. bob, L. faba.]1. (Bot.) A name given to the seed of certain leguminous herbs, chiefly of the genera Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos; also, to the herbs. Note: The origin and classification of many kinds are still doubtful. Among true beans are: the black-eyed bean and China bean, included in Dolichos Sinensis; black Egyptian bean or hyacinth bean, D. Lablab; the common haricot beans, kidney beans, string beans, and pole beans, all included in Phaseolus vulgaris; the lower bush bean, Ph. vulgaris, variety nanus; Lima bean, Ph. lunatus; Spanish bean and scarlet runner, Ph. maltiflorus; Windsor bean, the common bean of England, Faba vulgaris. As an article of food beans are classed with vegetables. 2. The popular name of other vegetable seeds or fruits, more or less resembling true beans. Bean aphis (Zo["o]l.), a plant louse (Aphis fab[ae]) which infests the bean plant. Bean fly (Zo["o]l.), a fly found on bean flowers. Bean goose (Zo["o]l.), a species of goose (Anser segetum). Bean weevil (Zo["o]l.), a small weevil that in the larval state destroys beans. The American species in Bruchus fab[ae]. Florida bean (Bot.), the seed of Mucuna urens, a West Indian plant. The seeds are washed up on the Florida shore, and are often polished and made into ornaments. Ignatius bean, or St. Ignatius's bean (Bot.), a species of Strychnos. Navy bean, the common dried white bean of commerce; probably so called because an important article of food in the navy. Pea bean, a very small and highly esteemed variety of the edible white bean; -- so called from its size. Sacred bean. See under Sacred. Screw bean. See under Screw. Sea bean. (a) Same as Florida bean. (b) A red bean of unknown species used for ornament. Tonquin bean, or Tonka bean, the fragrant seed of Dipteryx odorata, a leguminous tree. Vanilla bean. See under Vanilla.
End"less\, a. [AS. endele['a]s. See End.]1. Without end; having no end or conclusion; perpetual; interminable; -- applied to length, and to duration; as, an endless line; endless time; endless bliss; endless praise; endless clamor. 2. Infinite; excessive; unlimited. --Shak. 3. Without profitable end; fruitless; unsatisfying. [R.] "All loves are endless." --Beau. & Fl. 4. Void of design; objectless; as, an endless pursuit. Endless chain, a chain which is made continuous by uniting its two ends. Endless screw. (Mech.) See under Screw. Syn: Eternal; everlasting; interminable; infinite; unlimited; incessant; perpetual; uninterrupted; continual; unceasing; unending; boundless; undying; imperishable.
Per*pet"u*al\, a. [OE. perpetuel, F. perp['e]tuel, fr. L. perpetualis, fr. perpetuus continuing throughout, continuous, fr. perpes, -etis, lasting throughout.] Neverceasing; continuing forever or for an unlimited time; unfailing; everlasting; continuous. Unto the kingdom of perpetual night. --Shak. Perpetual feast of nectared sweets. --Milton. Circle of perpetual apparition, or occultation. See under Circle. Perpetual calendar, a calendar so devised that it may be adjusted for any month or year. Perpetual curacy (Ch. of Eng.), a curacy in which all the tithes are appropriated, and no vicarage is endowed. --Blackstone. Perpetual motion. See under Motion. Perpetual screw. See Endless screw, under Screw. Syn: Continual; unceasing; endless; everlasting; incessant; constant; eternal. See Constant.
Screw\ (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. ['e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.]1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical perforation, having a continuous rib, called the thread, winding round it spirally at a constant inclination, so as to leave a continuous spiral groove between one turn and the next, -- used chiefly for producing, when revolved, motion or pressure in the direction of its axis, by the sliding of the threads of the cylinder in the grooves between the threads of the perforation adapted to it, the former being distinguished as the external, or male screw, or, more usually the screw; the latter as the internal, or female screw, or, more usually, the nut. Note: The screw, as a mechanical power, is a modification of the inclined plane, and may be regarded as a right-angled triangle wrapped round a cylinder, the hypotenuse of the marking the spiral thread of the screw, its base equaling the circumference of the cylinder, and its height the pitch of the thread. 2. Specifically, a kind of nail with a spiral thread and a head with a nick to receive the end of the screw-driver. Screws are much used to hold together pieces of wood or to fasten something; -- called also wood screws, and screw nails. See also Screw bolt, below. 3. Anything shaped or acting like a screw; esp., a form of wheel for propelling steam vessels. It is placed at the stern, and furnished with blades having helicoidal surfaces to act against the water in the manner of a screw. See Screw propeller, below. 4. A steam vesel propelled by a screw instead of wheels; a screw steamer; a propeller. 5. An extortioner; a sharp bargainer; a skinflint; a niggard. --Thackeray. 6. An instructor who examines with great or unnecessary severity; also, a searching or strict examination of a student by an instructor. [Cant, American Colleges] 7. A small packet of tobacco. [Slang] --Mayhew. 8. An unsound or worn-out horse, useful as a hack, and commonly of good appearance. --Ld. Lytton. 9. (Math.) A straight line in space with which a definite linear magnitude termed the pitch is associated (cf. 5th Pitch, 10 (b) ). It is used to express the displacement of a rigid body, which may always be made to consist of a rotation about an axis combined with a translation parallel to that axis. 10. (Zo["o]l.) An amphipod crustacean; as, the skeleton screw (Caprella). See Sand screw, under Sand. Archimedes screw, Compound screw, Foot screw, etc. See under Archimedes, Compound, Foot, etc. A screw loose, something out of order, so that work is not done smoothly; as, there is a screw loose somewhere. --H. Martineau. Endless, or perpetual, {screw, a screw used to give motion to a toothed wheel by the action of its threads between the teeth of the wheel; -- called also a worm. Lag screw. See under Lag. Micrometer screw, a screw with fine threads, used for the measurement of very small spaces. Right and left screw, a screw having threads upon the opposite ends which wind in opposite directions. Screw alley. See Shaft alley, under Shaft. Screw bean. (Bot.) (a) The curious spirally coiled pod of a leguminous tree (Prosopis pubescens) growing from Texas to California. It is used for fodder, and ground into meal by the Indians. (b) The tree itself. Its heavy hard wood is used for fuel, for fencing, and for railroad ties. Screw bolt, a bolt having a screw thread on its shank, in distinction from a key bolt. See 1st Bolt, 3. Screw box, a device, resembling a die, for cutting the thread on a wooden screw. Screw dock. See under Dock. Screw engine, a marine engine for driving a screw propeller. Screw gear. See Spiral gear, under Spiral. Screw jack. Same as Jackscrew. Screw key, a wrench for turning a screw or nut; a spanner wrench. Screw machine. (a) One of a series of machines employed in the manufacture of wood screws. (b) A machine tool resembling a lathe, having a number of cutting tools that can be caused to act on the work successively, for making screws and other turned pieces from metal rods. Screw pine (Bot.), any plant of the endogenous genus Pandanus, of which there are about fifty species, natives of tropical lands from Africa to Polynesia; -- named from the spiral arrangement of the pineapple-like leaves. Screw plate, a device for cutting threads on small screws, consisting of a thin steel plate having a series of perforations with internal screws forming dies. Screw press, a press in which pressure is exerted by means of a screw. Screw propeller, a screw or spiral bladed wheel, used in the propulsion of steam vessels; also, a steam vessel propelled by a screw. Screw shell (Zo["o]l.), a long, slender, spiral gastropod shell, especially of the genus Turritella and allied genera. See Turritella. Screw steamer, a steamship propelled by a screw. Screw thread, the spiral rib which forms a screw. Screw stone (Paleon.), the fossil stem of an encrinite. Screw tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Helicteres, consisting of about thirty species of tropical shrubs, with simple leaves and spirally twisted, five-celled capsules; -- also called twisted-horn, and twisty. Screw valve, a stop valve which is opened or closed by a screw. Screw worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of an American fly (Compsomyia macellaria), allied to the blowflies, which sometimes deposits its eggs in the nostrils, or about wounds, in man and other animals, with fatal results. Screw wrench. (a) A wrench for turning a screw. (b) A wrench with an adjustable jaw that is moved by a screw. To put thescrew, or screws, on, to use pressure upon, as for the purpose of extortion; to coerce. To put under thescrew or screws, to subject to pressure; to force. Wood screw, a metal screw with a sharp thread of coarse pitch, adapted to holding fast in wood. See Illust. of Wood screw, under Wood.
Screw\ (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. ['e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.]1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical perforation, having a continuous rib, called the thread, winding round it spirally at a constant inclination, so as to leave a continuous spiral groove between one turn and the next, -- used chiefly for producing, when revolved, motion or pressure in the direction of its axis, by the sliding of the threads of the cylinder in the grooves between the threads of the perforation adapted to it, the former being distinguished as the external, or male screw, or, more usually the screw; the latter as the internal, or female screw, or, more usually, the nut. Note: The screw, as a mechanical power, is a modification of the inclined plane, and may be regarded as a right-angled triangle wrapped round a cylinder, the hypotenuse of the marking the spiral thread of the screw, its base equaling the circumference of the cylinder, and its height the pitch of the thread. 2. Specifically, a kind of nail with a spiral thread and a head with a nick to receive the end of the screw-driver. Screws are much used to hold together pieces of wood or to fasten something; -- called also wood screws, and screw nails. See also Screw bolt, below. 3. Anything shaped or acting like a screw; esp., a form of wheel for propelling steam vessels. It is placed at the stern, and furnished with blades having helicoidal surfaces to act against the water in the manner of a screw. See Screw propeller, below. 4. A steam vesel propelled by a screw instead of wheels; a screw steamer; a propeller. 5. An extortioner; a sharp bargainer; a skinflint; a niggard. --Thackeray. 6. An instructor who examines with great or unnecessary severity; also, a searching or strict examination of a student by an instructor. [Cant, American Colleges] 7. A small packet of tobacco. [Slang] --Mayhew. 8. An unsound or worn-out horse, useful as a hack, and commonly of good appearance. --Ld. Lytton. 9. (Math.) A straight line in space with which a definite linear magnitude termed the pitch is associated (cf. 5th Pitch, 10 (b) ). It is used to express the displacement of a rigid body, which may always be made to consist of a rotation about an axis combined with a translation parallel to that axis. 10. (Zo["o]l.) An amphipod crustacean; as, the skeleton screw (Caprella). See Sand screw, under Sand. Archimedes screw, Compound screw, Foot screw, etc. See under Archimedes, Compound, Foot, etc. A screw loose, something out of order, so that work is not done smoothly; as, there is a screw loose somewhere. --H. Martineau. Endless, or perpetual, {screw, a screw used to give motion to a toothed wheel by the action of its threads between the teeth of the wheel; -- called also a worm. Lag screw. See under Lag. Micrometer screw, a screw with fine threads, used for the measurement of very small spaces. Right and left screw, a screw having threads upon the opposite ends which wind in opposite directions. Screw alley. See Shaft alley, under Shaft. Screw bean. (Bot.) (a) The curious spirally coiled pod of a leguminous tree (Prosopis pubescens) growing from Texas to California. It is used for fodder, and ground into meal by the Indians. (b) The tree itself. Its heavy hard wood is used for fuel, for fencing, and for railroad ties. Screw bolt, a bolt having a screw thread on its shank, in distinction from a key bolt. See 1st Bolt, 3. Screw box, a device, resembling a die, for cutting the thread on a wooden screw. Screw dock. See under Dock. Screw engine, a marine engine for driving a screw propeller. Screw gear. See Spiral gear, under Spiral. Screw jack. Same as Jackscrew. Screw key, a wrench for turning a screw or nut; a spanner wrench. Screw machine. (a) One of a series of machines employed in the manufacture of wood screws. (b) A machine tool resembling a lathe, having a number of cutting tools that can be caused to act on the work successively, for making screws and other turned pieces from metal rods. Screw pine (Bot.), any plant of the endogenous genus Pandanus, of which there are about fifty species, natives of tropical lands from Africa to Polynesia; -- named from the spiral arrangement of the pineapple-like leaves. Screw plate, a device for cutting threads on small screws, consisting of a thin steel plate having a series of perforations with internal screws forming dies. Screw press, a press in which pressure is exerted by means of a screw. Screw propeller, a screw or spiral bladed wheel, used in the propulsion of steam vessels; also, a steam vessel propelled by a screw. Screw shell (Zo["o]l.), a long, slender, spiral gastropod shell, especially of the genus Turritella and allied genera. See Turritella. Screw steamer, a steamship propelled by a screw. Screw thread, the spiral rib which forms a screw. Screw stone (Paleon.), the fossil stem of an encrinite. Screw tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Helicteres, consisting of about thirty species of tropical shrubs, with simple leaves and spirally twisted, five-celled capsules; -- also called twisted-horn, and twisty. Screw valve, a stop valve which is opened or closed by a screw. Screw worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of an American fly (Compsomyia macellaria), allied to the blowflies, which sometimes deposits its eggs in the nostrils, or about wounds, in man and other animals, with fatal results. Screw wrench. (a) A wrench for turning a screw. (b) A wrench with an adjustable jaw that is moved by a screw. To put thescrew, or screws, on, to use pressure upon, as for the purpose of extortion; to coerce. To put under thescrew or screws, to subject to pressure; to force. Wood screw, a metal screw with a sharp thread of coarse pitch, adapted to holding fast in wood. See Illust. of Wood screw, under Wood.
Screw\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Screwed; p. pr. & vb. n. Screwing.]1. To turn, as a screw; to apply a screw to; to press, fasten, or make firm, by means of a screw or screws; as, to screw a lock on a door; to screw a press. 2. To force; to squeeze; to press, as by screws. But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail. --Shak. 3. Hence: To practice extortion upon; to oppress by unreasonable or extortionate exactions. Our country landlords, by unmeasurable screwing and racking their tenants, have already reduced the miserable people to a worse condition than the peasants in France. --swift. 4. To twist; to distort; as, to screw his visage. He screwed his face into a hardened smile. --Dryden. 5. To examine rigidly, as a student; to subject to a severe examination. [Cant, American Colleges] To screw out, to press out; to extort. To screw up, to force; to bring by violent pressure. --Howell. To screw in, to force in by turning or twisting.
Screw\, v. i. 1. To use violent mans in making exactions; to be oppressive or exacting. --Howitt. 2. To turn one's self uneasily with a twisting motion; as, he screws about in his chair.
Thread\ (thr[e^]d), n. [OE. threed, [thorn]red, AS. [thorn]r[=ae]d; akin to D. draad, G. draht wire, thread, OHG. dr[=a]t, Icel. [thorn]r[=a][eth]r a thread, Sw. tr[*a]d, Dan. traad, and AS. [thorn]r[=a]wan to twist. See Throw, and cf. Third.]1. A very small twist of flax, wool, cotton, silk, or other fibrous substance, drawn out to considerable length; a compound cord consisting of two or more single yarns doubled, or joined together, and twisted. 2. A filament, as of a flower, or of any fibrous substance, as of bark; also, a line of gold or silver. 3. The prominent part of the spiral of a screw or nut; the rib. See Screw, n., 1. 4. Fig.: Something continued in a long course or tenor; a,s the thread of life, or of a discourse. --Bp. Burnet. 5. Fig.: Composition; quality; fineness. [Obs.] A neat courtier, Of a most elegant thread. --B. Jonson. Air thread, the fine white filaments which are seen floating in the air in summer, the production of spiders; gossamer. Thread and thrum, the good and bad together. [Obs.] --Shak. Thread cell (Zo["o]l.), a lasso cell. See under Lasso. Thread herring (Zo["o]l.), the gizzard shad. See under Gizzard. Thread lace, lace made of linen thread. Thread needle, a game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding his neighbor, runs between the others; -- called also thread the needle.
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