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Webster 1913 Edition

Screw

Screw

(skrṳ)
,
Noun.
[OE.
scrue
, OF.
escroue
,
escroe
, female screw, F.
écrou
, L.
scrobis
a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D.
schroef
a screw, G.
schraube
, Icel.
skrūfa
.]
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.
☞ 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.
(Zool.)
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 screw
, 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
(Zool.)
,
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
(Zool.)
,
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 the screws on
or
To put the screw on
,
to use pressure upon, as for the purpose of extortion; to coerce.
–
To put under the screw
or
To put under the 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

(skrṳ)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Screwed
(skrṳd)
;
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.
Shakespeare
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
,
(a)
to force; to bring by violent pressure.
Howell.
(b)
to damage by unskillful effort; to bungle; to botch; to mess up;
as, he
screwed up
the contract negotiations, and we lost the deal
.
(c)
[intrans.]
to fail by unskillful effort, usually causing unpleasant consequences.
–
To screw in
,
to force in by turning or twisting.
Screw around
,
(a)
to act aimlessly or unproductively.
(b)
to commit adultery; to be sexually promiscuous.
–
Screw around with
,
to operate or make changes on (a machine or device) without expert knowledge; to fiddle with.
[Colloq.]
. –>

Screw

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To use violent means 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
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Screw

SCREW

, n.
1.
A cylinder of wood or metal, grooved spirally; or a cylinder with a spiral channel or thread cut in such a manner that it is equally inclined to the base of the cylinder throughout the whole length. A screw is male or female. In the male screw, the thread rises from the surface of the cylinder; in the female, the groove or channel is sunk below the surface to receive the thread of the male screw.
2.
One of the six mechanical powers.

SCREW

, v.t.
1.
To turn or apply a screw to; to press, fasten or make firm by a screw; as, to screw a lock on a door; to screw a press.
2.
To force; to squeeze; to press.
3.
To oppress by exactions. Landlords sometimes screw and rack their tenants without mercy.
4.
To deform by contortions; to distort.
He screw'd his face into a harden'd smile.
To screw out, to press out; to extort.
To screw up to force; to bring by violent pressure; as, to screw up the pins of power too high.
To screw in, to force in by turning or twisting.

Definition 2024

screw

****

English

Various screws.
Ship ****.

Noun

**** ‎(plural screws)

  1. A device that has a helical function.
    1. A simple machine, a helical inclined plane.
    2. A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a shank partially or completely threaded shank, sometimes with a threaded point, and a head used to both hold the top material and to drive the **** either directly into a soft material or into a prepared hole.
    3. (nautical) A ship's propeller.
      • 1915, George A. Birmingham, “chapter I”, in Gossamer (Project Gutenberg; EBook #24394), London: Methuen & Co., published 8 January 2013 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 558189256:
        It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the **** begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.
    4. An Archimedes ****.
    5. A steam vessel propelled by a **** instead of wheels.
  2. (derogatory) A prison guard.
  3. (derogatory) An extortioner; a sharp bargainer; a skinflint.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Thackeray to this entry?)
  4. (US, slang, dated) An instructor who examines with great or unnecessary severity; also, a searching or strict examination of a student by an instructor.
  5. (vulgar, slang) Sexual intercourse; the act of screwing.
    have a good ****‎
    • 2001, Bárbara Mujica, Frida: A Novel of Frida Kahlo, Overlook Press (2012), ISBN 9781468300994, unnumbered page:
      “Not for God's sake, for Papá's sake. He's the one who gave Mami a good ****, and then you popped out. Or did you think you were a child of the Immaculate Conception, like the Baby Jesus?
    • 2007, Barry Calvert, Swingers 1, Matador (2007), ISBN 9781905886647, page 85:
      A few couples would let selected doggers join in, with the lucky ones managing to get a ****.
    • 2009, Kimberly Kaye Terry, The Sweet Spot, Aphrodisia Books (2009), ISBN 9780758228765, page 28:
      As she sucked the nicotine deeply into her lungs, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard, enjoying the pleasurable buzz that the combination of a good ****—well, a decent ****—coupled with the nicotine gave.
  6. (vulgar, slang) A casual sexual partner.
    • 1944, W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge, Vintage International (2003), ISBN 9780307785084, unnumbered page:
      “If I don't go back to my boy friend he'll be as mad as ****. He's a sulky brute, but Christ, he's a good ****.”
    • 1990, Susan Lewis, Stolen Beginnings, HarperPaperbacks (1992), ISBN 9780061004414, page 122:
      "Swear it!" Kathleen screamed. "Let her know that she's just another ****. Because, darling, that's all you are. So go on, tell her!"
    • 1993, William Gill, Fortune's Child, HarperCollins Canada (1994), ISBN 9780061091551, page 42:
      She was just a girl, like any of the girls he had had so easily, just another ****.
    • 2009, Sam Moffie, The Book of Eli, Mill City Press (2009), ISBN 9781936107353, page 6:
      Mary was Eli's favorite **** because she was clean, pretty, a good mother, funny, and alway was able to make herself available for their twice a week **** as easily as he was.
  7. (slang) Salary, wages.
  8. (billiards) Backspin.
  9. (slang) A small packet of tobacco.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Mayhew to this entry?)
  10. (dated) An old, worn-out, unsound and worthless horse.
  11. (mathematics) A straight line in space with which a definite linear magnitude termed the pitch is associated. 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.
  12. An amphipod crustacean.
    the skeleton **** (Caprella);  the sand ****‎
  13. (dated, slang) A prison guard.

Synonyms

  • (casual sexual partner): see also Wikisaurus:casual sexual partner.

Derived terms

See also

Translations

Verb

**** ‎(third-person singular simple present screws, present participle screwing, simple past and past participle screwed)

  1. (transitive) To connect or assemble pieces using a ****.
  2. (transitive, vulgar, slang) To have sexual intercourse with.
  3. (transitive, slang) To cheat someone or ruin their chances in a game or other situation. Sometimes used in the form "**** over".
  4. (transitive) To apply pressure on; to put the screws on.
  5. To practice extortion upon; to oppress by unreasonable or extortionate exactions.
    • Jonathan Swift
      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.
  6. (transitive) To contort.
    • Dryden
      He screwed his face into a hardened smile.
    • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter V
      I had been calling Nobs in the meantime and was about to set out in search of him, fearing, to tell the truth, to do so lest I find him mangled and dead among the trees of the acacia grove, when he suddenly emerged from among the boles, his ears flattened, his tail between his legs and his body screwed into a suppliant S. He was unharmed except for minor bruises; but he was the most chastened dog I have ever seen.
  7. (soccer, transitive) To miskick (a ball) by hitting it with the wrong part of the foot.
    • 2011 February 5, Chris Whyatt, “Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC:
      The visitors could have added an instant second, but Rooney screwed an ugly attempt high into Hennessey's arms after Berbatov cleverly found the unmarked England striker.
  8. (billiard, snooker, pool) To **** back.
  9. (US, slang, dated) To examine (a student) rigidly; to subject to a severe examination.

Synonyms

  • Wikisaurus:sexual intercourse (2)
  • **** (taboo slang) (2, 3)
  • (Australia) root (2)
  • (British) shag (2)

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edn., s.v. "****".
  2. ↑ A new English dictionary on historical principles, Vol. 8, "****"

Etymology

From Middle English ****, scrue ‎(“****”); apparently, despite the difference in meaning, from Old French escroue ‎(“nut, cylindrical socket, screwhole”), of uncertain origin. There is also the Old French escruve ‎(“****”), from Old Dutch *scrūva ("****"; whence Middle Dutch schruyve ‎(“****”)), which probably influenced or conflated with the aforementioned, resulting in the Middle English word.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /skɹuː/

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