cotter pin
Americannoun
noun
-
a split pin secured, after passing through holes in the parts to be attached, by spreading the ends
-
a tapered pin threaded at the smaller end and secured by a nut after insertion
Etymology
Origin of cotter pin
First recorded in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cause of the accident was narrowed down to a cotter pin, which one of the mechanics at Valbuena Field had forgotten to replace after greasing the landing wheels that morning.
From Time Magazine Archive
At the Mikawa mine on southern Kyushu island, a cotter pin apparently fell out of a coupling on a string of coal cars halted on a slight incline.
From Time Magazine Archive
Serial writers ran out of hazards years ago, have been working switches on them ever since; the loose cotter pin on the stagecoach, for example, has been used an estimated 7,000 times.
From Time Magazine Archive
Release the cotter pin from the spindle nut, then remove the nut and washer, and the entire hub should slip off the axle.
From Time Magazine Archive
Each end of the wire is put through the eye of a cotter pin, twisted around itself and soldered.
From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
