screw
Audio Help [skroo] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [skroo] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
—Verb phrases
—Idioms
| 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.
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| 10. | British Informal. salary; wages. |
| 11. | Slang. a prison guard. |
| 12. | Slang: Vulgar.
|
| 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. |
| 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.
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| 30. | screw off, Slang.
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| 31. | screw up, Slang.
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| 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
]
] —Related forms
screw·a·ble, adjective
screwer, noun
screwless, adjective
screwlike, adjective
—Synonyms 20. wring, wrest, force, exact, squeeze.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
screw up
To learn more about screw up visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
screw·up
Audio Help [skroo-uhp] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [skroo-uhp] Pronunciation Key –noun Slang.
| 1. | a mistake or blunder: The package was delayed through an addressing screwup. |
| 2. | a habitual blunderer. |
Also, screw-up.
[Origin: 1955–60; Americanism; n. use of v. phrase screw up
]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
screw
Audio Help (skrōō) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) n.
v. screwed, screw·ing, screws v. tr.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| screw up | |
verb | |
| 1. | make more intense; "Emotions were screwed up" [syn: heat up] |
| 2. | make a mess of, destroy or ruin; "I botched the dinner and we had to eat out"; "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement" [syn: botch] |
| 3. | screw or turn higher |
| 4. | twist into a strained configuration; "screw up one's face" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
screw up1
to twist or wrinkle (the face or features)
Example: The baby screwed up its face and began to cry.
screw up2Example: The baby screwed up its face and began to cry.
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to crumple
Example: She screwed up the letter.
screw up3Example: She screwed up the letter.
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(slang) to bungle; to make a mess of
Example: He screwed up again; Plan it carefully — I don't want you to screw things up.
See also: be/get screwed, screwdriver, have a screw loose, put the screws on, screw, screw up one's courageExample: He screwed up again; Plan it carefully — I don't want you to screw things up.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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