hook and eye

American  

noun

1. a two-piece clothes fastener, usually of metal, consisting of a hook that catches onto a loop or bar.

2. a three-piece latching device consisting of a hook attached to a screw eye or an eyebolt and a separate screw eye or eyebolt that the hook engages as it bridges a gap, as one between a door and a jamb or a gate and a gatepost.

3. Also called eyehook.  the two-piece portion of such a device consisting of a hook and a screw eye.

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hook and eye British  

noun

1. a fastening for clothes consisting of a small hook hooked onto a small metal or thread loop

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Etymology

Origin of hook and eye

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

"Some trifle may have been forgotten and a missing hook and eye might spoil the effect of the whole thing."

From Up the Hill and Over by Mackay, Isabel Ecclestone

—They're only in the hook and eye department, Myles Crawford said.

From Ulysses by Joyce, James

She wore boots laced up at the side, or long boots of soft leather fastened with hook and eye; shoes like a man’s, but not so pointed and extreme.

From English Costume by Calthrop, Dion Clayton

She always had hooks off her dress, or a hook and eye put together that did not mate, or her dress was broken from its gathers.

From Cricket at the Seashore by Richards, Harriet Roosevelt

Every hook and eye and button on my clothes is moored so tight that even the hand laundry can't tear 'em off.

From Roast Beef, Medium by Ferber, Edna

Related Words

• hook
• snap