Meaning & use
screw
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A small metal pin with a spiral ridge around it and a slotted head, turned to hold things together or into wood or a wall.
Grammar: Plural screws: a box of screws.
Patterns
- a screw in something
- tighten a screw
He drove a screw into the wall to hang the shelf.
One screw had come loose, so the hinge wobbled.
Pass me the screws and the screwdriver, please.
verbtransitive
To fasten something in place with screws, or to turn something round and round until it is tight.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with a direction word: screw the lid on, screw the panel to the frame.
Patterns
- screw something to something
- screw something on
- screw something in
Screw the lid on tightly so nothing leaks.
They screwed the sign to the fence.
She screwed the bulb into the socket.
verbtransitiveinformalslang
To cheat or treat someone unfairly, especially over money.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: the seller screwed me.
Patterns
- screw someone out of something
- get screwed
The garage screwed me out of fifty dollars.
I felt screwed when the contract changed at the last minute.
Word forms
| plural | screws |
|---|---|
| third person singular | screws |
| past tense | screwed |
| past participle | screwed |
| -ing form | screwing |
Common combinations
- tighten a screw
- Tighten the screw until it holds.
- loose screw
- A loose screw made the handle rattle.
- screw something down
- Screw the board down firmly.
- drive a screw
- He drove a screw through the plank.
- screw on the cap
- Screw on the cap after pouring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bolt
- Needs a nut at the other end, whereas a screw bites into the material itself.
- nail
- Is hammered in rather than turned, and grips less firmly.
- fasten
- A general verb for attaching by any method, not necessarily turning.
Opposites
Word family
- screwdriver noun
- tool for turning screws
- unscrew verb
- to remove by turning the opposite way
- screwed adjective
- fastened by screws; informally in trouble
Commonly confused: screw or nail?
screw vs nail
A nail is smooth and hammered, while a screw has a thread and is turned.
Practice
Which sentence uses screw as a verb correctly for fastening?
Choose one answer.
Screw takes an object and then to for the surface it is fixed against. The other options break that pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “screw”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.