I. screw 1 S3 /skruː/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: escroe 'inner screw, nut' , from Latin scrofa 'female pig' ]
1 . a thin pointed piece of metal that you push and turn in order to fasten pieces of metal or wood together ⇨ nail :
Fix the frame in position and tighten the screws.
2 . informal not polite
a) an offensive word meaning an act of having sex
b) a good screw a very offensive word for someone who is good at having sex
3 . have a screw loose informal to be slightly crazy
4 . put/tighten the screws on somebody informal to force someone to do something by threatening them:
The government has started to tighten the screws on illegal share dealers.
5 . British English informal a prison officer – used especially by prisoners
II. screw 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . ATTACH [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to attach one thing to another using a screw ⇨ nail
screw something into/onto/to something
The chairs were screwed to the floor.
The wooden frame should be screwed onto the wall.
2 . CLOSE BY TURNING [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to fasten or close something by turning it, or to be fastened in this way OPP unscrew
screw (something) on/onto something
The lens screws onto the front of the camera.
She carefully screwed the cap back onto the toothpaste.
3 . PAPER/CLOTH [transitive always + adverb/preposition] ( also screw up ) to twist paper or cloth into a small round shape:
She screwed the letter up and threw it in the bin.
screw something (up) into something
I screwed my handkerchief into a ball.
4 . SEX [intransitive and transitive] informal not polite an offensive word meaning to have sex with someone
5 . screw you/him etc spoken not polite an offensive expression used to show that you are very angry with someone
6 . CHEAT [transitive] not polite to cheat someone in order to get money from them
screw somebody for something
They screwed us for $60 in the end.
⇨ have your head screwed on (straight) at ↑ head 1 (3c)
screw around phrasal verb
1 . informal to do silly things that may cause trouble SYN mess around :
The kids were screwing around down by the bus station.
2 . not polite an offensive expression meaning to have sex with a lot of different people
screw up phrasal verb
1 . informal to make a bad mistake or do something very stupid SYN mess up :
You’d better not screw up this time.
2 . screw something ↔ up informal to spoil something by doing something stupid SYN mess something up :
She realized that she had screwed up her life.
3 . screw up your eyes/face to move the muscles in your face in a way that makes your eyes seem narrow:
He screwed up his eyes against the bright light.
Her face was screwed up with pain.
4 . screw somebody ↔ up informal to make someone feel very unhappy, confused, or upset so that they have emotional problems for a long time SYN mess somebody up :
It really screwed her up when her mother died.
⇨ ↑ screwed up
5 . screw up the/enough courage to do something ( also screw up your courage to do something ) to be brave enough to do something you are very nervous about:
I finally screwed up enough courage to talk to her.