screwleft to right: round-head machine screw, flat-head wood screw, and round-head wood screwscrew (skro?o)n.1. a. A cylindrical rod incised with one or more helical or advancing spiral threads, as a lead screw or worm screw.b. The tapped collar or socket that receives this rod.2. A metal pin with incised threads and a broad slotted head that can be driven as a fastener by turning with a screwdriver, especially:a. A tapered and pointed wood screw.b. A cylindrical and flat-tipped machine screw.3. A device having a helical form, such as a corkscrew.4. A propeller.5. A twist or turn, as of a screw.6. Slang a. A prison guard.b. The turnkey of a jail.7. Vulgar Slang The act or an instance of having sexual intercourse.8. Chiefly British Slang a. Salary; wages.b. A small paper packet, as of tobacco.c. An old broken-down horse.d. A stingy or crafty bargainer.v. screwed, screw·ing, screws v.tr.1. To drive or tighten (a screw).2. a. To fasten, tighten, or attach by means of a screw or similar fastener.b. To attach (a tapped or threaded fitting or cap) by twisting into place.c. To rotate (a part) on a threaded axis.3. To contort (one’s face).4. Slang To treat (someone) unfairly; exploit or cheat: screwed me out of the most lucrative sales territory.5. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.v.intr.1. To turn or twist.2. a. To become attached by means of the threads of a screw.b. To be capable of such attachment.3. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse.Phrasal Verbs: screw around1. Slang To act or fool around aimlessly or in a confused way and accomplish nothing.2. Vulgar Slang To be sexually promiscuous. screw over Slang To treat (someone) unfairly. screw up1. To muster or summon up: screwed up my courage.2. Slang To make a mess of (an undertaking).3. Slang To injure or damage: Lifting those boxes really screwed up my back. That decision screwed up my career.4. Slang To cause (someone) to be emotionally or mentally troubled: His father’s harshness really screwed him up.Idiom: have a screw loose Slang To behave in an eccentric or mentally deranged manner.[Middle English skrewe, from Old French escrove, female screw, nut, perhaps from Medieval Latin scr?fa, from Latin, sow; see sker- in Indo-European roots.]screw?a·ble adj.screw?er n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.screw (skru?) n1. (Mechanical Engineering) a device used for fastening materials together, consisting of a threaded and usually tapered shank that has a slotted head by which it may be rotated so as to cut its own thread as it bores through the material2. (Mechanical Engineering) Also called: screw-bolt a threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded cylindrical hole; bolt3. (Mechanical Engineering) a thread in a cylindrical hole corresponding with that on the bolt or screw with which it is designed to engage4. anything resembling a screw in shape or spiral form5. a twisting movement of or resembling that of a screw6. (Billiards & Snooker) billiards snooker a. a stroke in which the cue ball recoils or moves backward after striking the object ball, made by striking the cue ball below its centreb. the motion resulting from this stroke7. (Mechanical Engineering) another name for propeller18. slang a prison guard9. slang Brit salary, wages, or earnings10. Brit a small amount of salt, tobacco, etc, in a twist of paper11. slang a person who is mean with money12. (Horse Racing) slang an old, unsound, or worthless horse13. (often plural) slang force or compulsion (esp in the phrase put the screws on)14. slang sexual intercourse15. have a screw loose informal to be insane16. turn the screw tighten the screw slang to increase the pressurevb17. (Mechanical Engineering) (tr) to rotate (a screw or bolt) so as to drive it into or draw it out of a material18. (Mechanical Engineering) (tr) to cut a screw thread in (a rod or hole) with a tap or die or on a lathe19. to turn or cause to turn in the manner of a screw20. (tr) to attach or fasten with a screw or screws21. (tr) informal to take advantage of; cheat22. (often foll by: up) to distort or contort: he screwed his face into a scowl. 23. (General Sporting Terms) Also: screw back to impart a screw to (a ball)24. (tr, often foll by from or out of) to coerce or force out of; extort25. slang to have sexual intercourse (with)26. (tr) slang to burgle27. have one’s head screwed on have one’s head screwed on the right way informal to be wise or sensible[C15: from French escroe, from Medieval Latin scr?fa screw, from Latin: sow, presumably because the thread of the screw is like the spiral of the sow’s tail] ?screwer n ?screw?like adjUsage: The use of this otherwise utilitarian word in a sexual sense, though recorded in an 18th century slang dictionary, does not appear to have really taken off until well into the 20th. Although a classic example of the anatomical metaphor for the sex act seen from the male point of view, it can be used with a woman as the subject, which suggests that the metaphor is all but deadCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014screw (skru) n. 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, as with a screwdriver. 2. a threaded cylindrical rod, with a head at one end, that engages a threaded hole and is used as a fastener, clamp, etc. Compare bolt 1 (def. 1). 3. a tapped or threaded hole. 4. something having a spiral form. 5. propeller (def. 1). 6. a single turn of a screw. 7. a twisting movement. 8. Brit. a. a little salt, tobacco, etc., carried in a twist of paper. b. Slang. a debilitated horse. c. Slang. a miser. 9. Slang. a prison guard. 10. Vulgar Slang. a. an act of sexual intercourse. b. a sexual partner. v.t. 11. to turn or tighten (a screw). 12. to fasten or attach with or as if with a screw or screws. 13. to attach, detach, or adjust (a threaded part) by a twisting motion. 14. to operate or adjust by a screw, as a press. 15. to contort as by twisting; distort. 16. to strengthen or intensify (usu. fol. by up): I screwed up my courage and asked for a raise. 17. to coerce or threaten. 18. to extract or extort. 19. Slang. to cheat or take advantage of (someone). 20. Vulgar Slang. to have sexual intercourse with. v.i. 21. to become attached, detached, or adjusted by being twisted: The bottle top screws on. 22. Vulgar Slang. to have sexual intercourse. 23. screw around, a. Slang. to waste time. b. Slang: Usu. Vulgar. to be promiscuous. 24. screw up, Slang. a. to ruin or botch; make a mess of. b. to cause to become troubled, neurotic, or incapable of handling one’s life. Idioms: 1. have a screw loose, to behave or think oddly. 2. put the screws on, to use coercion on; force. [1375?1425; late Middle English scrwe, screw(e) (n.)] screw?a?ble, adj. screw?er, n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.screwPast participle: screwedGerund: screwingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativescrewscrewPresentI screwyou screwhe/she/it screwswe screwyou screwthey screwPreteriteI screwedyou screwedhe/she/it screwedwe screwedyou screwedthey screwedPresent ContinuousI am screwingyou are screwinghe/she/it is screwingwe are screwingyou are screwingthey are screwingPresent PerfectI have screwedyou have screwedhe/she/it has screwedwe have screwedyou have screwedthey have screwedPast ContinuousI was screwingyou were screwinghe/she/it was screwingwe were screwingyou were screwingthey were screwingPast PerfectI had screwedyou had screwedhe/she/it had screwedwe had screwedyou had screwedthey had screwedFutureI will screwyou will screwhe/she/it will screwwe will screwyou will screwthey will screwFuture PerfectI will have screwedyou will have screwedhe/she/it will have screwedwe will have screwedyou will have screwedthey will have screwedFuture ContinuousI will be screwingyou will be screwinghe/she/it will be screwingwe will be screwingyou will be screwingthey will be screwingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been screwingyou have been screwinghe/she/it has been screwingwe have been screwingyou have been screwingthey have been screwingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been screwingyou will have been screwinghe/she/it will have been screwingwe will have been screwingyou will have been screwingthey will have been screwingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been screwingyou had been screwinghe/she/it had been screwingwe had been screwingyou had been screwingthey had been screwingConditionalI would screwyou would screwhe/she/it would screwwe would screwyou would screwthey would screwPast ConditionalI would have screwedyou would have screwedhe/she/it would have screwedwe would have screwedyou would have screwedthey would have screwedCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011