- [countable] a thin pointed piece of metal like a nail with a raised spiral line (called a thread) along it and a line or cross cut into its head. Screws are turned and pressed into wood, metal, etc. with a screwdriver in order to fasten two things together.
- One of the screws is loose.
- Now tighten all the screws.
Collocations Decorating and home improvementDecorating and home improvementHousessee also Allen screw™, corkscrewTopics Engineeringc1- refurbish/renovate/ (British English) do up a building/a house
- convert a building/house/room into homes/offices/(especially North American English) apartments/(British English) flats
- extend/enlarge a house/building/room/kitchen
- build (British English) an extension (to the back/rear of a house)/(North American English) an addition (on/to something)/(British English) a conservatory
- knock down/demolish a house/home/building/wall
- knock out/through the wall separating two rooms
- furnish/paint/ (especially British English) decorate a home/a house/an apartment/a flat/a room
- be decorated in bright colours/in a traditional style/with flowers/with paintings
- paint/plaster the walls/ceiling
- hang/put up/strip off/remove the wallpaper
- install/replace/remove the bathroom fixtures/(British English) fittings
- build/put up shelves
- lay wooden flooring/timber decking/floor tiles/a carpet/a patio
- put up/hang/take down a picture/painting/poster/curtain
- do (British English) DIY/carpentry/the plumbing/the wiring
- make home improvements
- add/install central heating/underfloor heating/insulation
- fit/install double-glazing/a smoke alarm
- insulate your house/your home/the walls/the pipes/the tanks/(especially British English) the loft
- fix/repair a roof/a leak/a pipe/the plumbing/a leaking (especially British English) tap/(North American English usually) faucet
- block/clog (up)/unblock/unclog a pipe/sink
- make/drill/fill a hole
- hammer (in)/pull out/remove a nail
- tighten/untighten/loosen/remove a screw
- saw/cut/treat/stain/varnish/paint wood
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wood
- loose
- turn
- loosen
- tighten
- …
- [countable] an act of turning a screw
- [singular] (taboo, slang) an act of having sex
- [singular] (taboo, slang) a partner in sex
- a good screw
- [countable] a propeller on a ship, a boat or an aircraftTopics Transport by waterc2
- [countable] (British English, slang) a prison officer
Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun): from Old French escroue ‘female screw, nut’, from Latin scrofa, literally ‘sow’, later ‘screw’. The early sense of the verb was ‘contort (the features), twist around’ (late 16th cent.).
Idioms
See screw in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryhave a screw loose
- (informal) to be slightly strange in your behaviour
put the screws on (somebody)
- to force somebody to do something by frightening and threatening them
a turn of the screw
- an extra amount of pressure, cruelty, etc. added to a situation that is already difficult to bear or understand
Check pronunciation:
screw