holdfast
Americannoun
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something used to hold or secure a thing in place; a catch, hook, clamp, etc.
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Botany, Mycology. any of several rootlike or suckerlike organs or parts serving for attachment.
noun
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the act of gripping strongly
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such a grip
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any device used to secure an object, such as a hook, clamp, etc
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the organ of attachment of a seaweed or related plant
Etymology
Origin of holdfast
First recorded in 1550–60; noun use of verb phrase hold fast
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.
Looy noted, however, that the diversity of invertebrates found within the 32-million-year-old fossilized holdfast was not as high as would be found inside a kelp holdfast today.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2024
Looking to nature for inspiration, the McGill-led research zeroed in on the marine mussel byssus, a fibrous holdfast, which these bivalve mollusks use to anchor themselves in seashore habitats.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2023
They twirl together with their chosen female under the water, changing colors and linking tails as they pirouette around a shared holdfast.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 23, 2021
Rotifers are typically free-swimming and truly planktonic organisms, but the toes or extensions of the foot can secrete a sticky material forming a holdfast to help them adhere to surfaces.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
In ones and twos, the holdfast of Sherrer struggled to its feet.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
