fasten
Americanverb (used with object)
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fastens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fastened,
past participle, past
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fastening
present participle
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to attach firmly or securely in place; fix securely to something else.
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to make secure, as an article of dress with buttons, clasps, etc., or a door with a lock, bolt, etc.
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to enclose securely, as a person or an animal (usually followed byin ).
to fasten a monkey in a cage.
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to attach, associate, or connect.
to fasten a nickname on someone.
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to direct (the eyes, thoughts, etc.) intently.
to fasten one's eyes on a speaker.
verb (used without object)
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fastens,
present (3rd person singular)
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fastened,
past participle, past
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fastening
present participle
-
to become fast, fixed, or firm.
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to close firmly or securely; lock.
This clasp won't fasten.
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to take a firm hold; seize (usually followed by on orupon ).
to fasten on an idea.
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to focus attention; concentrate (usually followed by on orupon ).
His gaze fastened on the jewels.
verb
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to make or become fast or secure
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to make or become attached or joined
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to close or become closed by fixing firmly in place, locking, etc
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(tr; foll by in or up) to enclose or imprison
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to cause (blame, a nickname, etc) to be attached (to); place (on) or impute (to)
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to direct or be directed in a concentrated way; fix
he fastened his gaze on the girl
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take firm hold (of)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fastensimple
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fastenssimple
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have fastenedperfect
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has fastenedperfect
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am fasteningprogressive
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are fasteningprogressive
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is fasteningprogressive
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have been fasteningperfect progressive
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has been fasteningperfect progressive
Past
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fastenedsimple
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had fastenedperfect
-
was fasteningprogressive
-
were fasteningprogressive
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had been fasteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fasten
before 900; Middle English fastenen, Old English fæstnian; cognate with Old Norse fastna to betroth; akin to fast 1
Explanation
When you fasten something, you close or attach it. You might fasten your coat, closing each snap, when the sun goes down and the air gets chilly. People fasten all kinds of things: we all fasten our seat belts when we board an airplane and fasten our bathrobes by tying them in the front. Your ski goggles might fasten onto your helmet, just as your boots fasten onto your skis. You can also say that you fasten your hair with a barrette or fasten a charm bracelet around your wrist. The Old English root is fæstnian, "make fast or firm."
Vocabulary lists containing fasten
"A Universe of Stars"
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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.
See Examples For:
“If there is any error in human judgment, I was the human. I won’t try to fasten it on anybody else.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The implied exhortation is that readers should fasten their seatbelts for a rare old ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
At designer Rowen Rose, a large orange stone was used to fasten a green or yellow scarf to a matching sweater.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
They fasten scarves on their visitors’ heads with a neat, pearl-topped pin.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2024
Lupita watched him take the wire handle off the full box and fasten it to one of the empty ones.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
Later he fastens his attentions on an unthreatening neighbor and his daughter, who has a crush on Frank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
As a song—“Just a Little Bit of Light”—plays, he lifts a large menorah from his car, fastens it onto the roof, lights it, and dances beside it, out in the street.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2025
She fastens chunky gold hoop earrings and clips on her gold Olympic necklace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
The mantle, which fastens across the chest with a golden eagle clasp, is inspired by ancient coronation ensembles and its priest-like style is meant to symbolise the divine nature of kingship.
From BBC ● May 1, 2023
Over it, she fastens a clear plastic bag with six evenly spaced hairpins, and waits.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The price of plastic has risen roughly 50 percent since before the Iran war, Chen told AFP as workers behind him fastened suction tubes to metal tanks.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
A plywood arch bearing the words “Caius Caesar: Preparing For Triumph” had been fastened to the door; the kids were getting ready for the annual Roman pageant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
But the bay vacated by the ice shelf was eventually filled with sea-ice "fastened" to the seabed, helping to partly stabilise Hektoria.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
Her bathroom became a toilet she fastened on top of her septic tank outside and exposed for her neighbors to see — had any of them come back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Though his sleeves were rolled down and fastened by cloisonne cufflinks, I recognized him as the tattooed man from the Whitechapel Club.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Visitors also encountered the phonograph and early mechanical fastening devices that foreshadowed later developments in clothing closures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
The mission was dizzying, literally, as he spent months fastening his seatbelt and zipping through mountains, strapping on AR goggles and floating into fairy tales.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2024
Following the outcry in Paris, Sargent repainted the fastening securely in place, but he never showed the painting again and was forced to decamp to London to restore his career.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
Sound Transit has mentioned possibly leaving two lanes of Westlake open, by making narrow cuts and fastening temporary platforms to drive on.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
He set up his suspenders as a slingshot, fastening one end to a stout bush.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
