SCREW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does screw mean? 

• SCREW (noun)
  The noun SCREW has 5 senses:

1. someone who guards prisoners

2. 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

  Familiarity information: SCREW used as a noun is common.

• SCREW (verb)
  The verb SCREW has 5 senses:

1. have sexual intercourse with

2. turn like a screw

3. cause to penetrate, as with a circular motion

4. tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions

5. defeat someone through trickery or deceit

  Familiarity information: SCREW used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCREW (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Someone who guards prisoners

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

gaoler; jailer; jailor; prison guard; screw; turnkey

Hypernyms ("screw" is a kind of...):

keeper (someone in charge of other people)

law officer; lawman; peace officer (an officer of the law)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("screw" is a kind of...):

inclined plane (a simple machine for elevating objects; consists of plane surface that makes an acute angle with the horizontal)

Derivation:

screw (tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions)

screw (turn like a screw)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A propeller with several angled blades that rotates to push against water or air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

screw; screw propeller

Hypernyms ("screw" is a kind of...):

propeller; propellor (a mechanical device that rotates to push against air or water)

Holonyms ("screw" is a part of...):

outboard; outboard motor (internal-combustion engine that mounts at stern of small boat)

ship (a vessel that carries passengers or freight)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("screw" is a kind of...):

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)

Meronyms (parts of "screw"):

screw thread; thread (the raised helical rib going around a screw)

head (a projection out from one end)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "screw"):

Allen screw (a screw with a hexagonal hole in the head)

bolt (a screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener)

cap screw (a threaded screw for machine parts; screws into a tapped hole)

machine screw (a screw used either with a nut or with a tapped hole; slotted head can be driven by a screwdriver)

metal screw (screw made of metal)

Phillips screw (a screw with a special head having crossed slots)

setscrew (a screw (often without a head) that fits into the boss or hub of a wheel or cam etc. and prevents motion of the part relative to the shaft on which it is mounted)

setscrew (a screw that is used to adjust the tension on a spring)

thumbscrew (screw designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers)

woodscrew (a metal screw that tapers to a point so that it can be driven into wood with a screwdriver)

worm (screw thread on a gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack)

Derivation:

screw (tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions)

screw (cause to penetrate, as with a circular motion)

screw (turn like a screw)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Slang for sexual intercourse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

ass; fuck; fucking; nookie; nooky; piece of ass; piece of tail; roll in the hay; screw; screwing; shag; shtup

Hypernyms ("screw" is a kind of...):

carnal knowledge; coition; coitus; copulation; intercourse; relation; sex act; sexual congress; sexual intercourse; sexual relation (sexual activity between individuals, especially the insertion of a man's penis into a woman's vagina until orgasm and ejaculation occur)

Domain usage:

dirty word; filth; obscenity; smut; vulgarism (an offensive or indecent word or phrase)

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Derivation:

screw (have sexual intercourse with)

• SCREW (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they screw    ... he / she / it screws   
Past simple: screwed   
Past participle: screwed   
-ing form: screwing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have sexual intercourse with

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bang; be intimate; bed; bonk; do it; eff; fuck; get it on; get laid; have a go at it; have intercourse; have it away; have it off; have sex; hump; jazz; know; lie with; love; make love; make out; roll in the hay; screw; sleep together; sleep with

Context example:

Were you ever intimate with this man?

Hypernyms (to "screw" is one way to...):

copulate; couple; mate; pair (engage in sexual intercourse)

Verb group:

make out; neck (kiss, embrace, or fondle with sexual passion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "screw"):

have; take (have sex with; archaic use)

fornicate (have sex without being married)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue screw
Sam cannot screw Sue

Derivation:

screw; screwing (slang for sexual intercourse)

Domain usage:

archaism (the use of an archaic expression)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Turn like a screw

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "screw" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "screw"):

screw up (screw or turn higher)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)

screw (a simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to penetrate, as with a circular motion

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

drive in; screw

Context example:

drive in screws or bolts

Hypernyms (to "screw" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Tighten or fasten by means of screwing motions

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Screw the bottle cap on

Hypernyms (to "screw" is one way to...):

fasten; tighten (make tight or tighter)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

unscrew (loosen by turning)

Derivation:

screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)

screw (a simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Defeat someone through trickery or deceit

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

cheat; chicane; chouse; jockey; screw; shaft

Hypernyms (to "screw" is one way to...):

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Did Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I’ll put a screw into that business,” said the little tailor.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Oh, goroo!—which he screwed out of himself, with an energy that made his eyes start in his head.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

After a little hesitation, then, I screwed up my courage and continued upon my way, my useless gun under my arm.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A screw designed to thread into a nut to form a fastener.

(Bolt Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Sometimes you need surgery to put in plates, pins or screws to keep the bone in place.

(Fractures, NIH)

He screwed up his face as he took a sup from Sir Charles’s brandy flask.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, there we stood, two on one side, five on the other, the pit between us, and nobody screwed up high enough to offer the first blow.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The screw was a pound a week rise, and the duties just about the same as at Coxon’s.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Straightway he began taking out the screws, and finally lifted off the lid, showing the casing of lead beneath.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)