lead screw

American

[leed] / lid /

noun

(on a lathe) a rotating horizontal screw for moving the tool carriage along the work at a constant rate.

lead screw British

/ liːd /

noun

a threaded rod that drives the tool carriage in a lathe when screw cutting, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Its lead screw, liberated from the child’s spinning top that inspired its designer, still works, sending the basket merrily whirring in its plastic bowl.

From Slate

WHY: The incline lead screw can shear off, causing the foot pedals to drop unexpectedly, resulting in a fall hazard to the user.

From Seattle Times

The lead screw of a lathe is a screw for operating the lathe carriage when it is desired to cut threads upon the work.

From Project Gutenberg

At the other end of the lathe there are no collars on the lead screw, hence when it expands or contracts, which it will do throughout its whole length under variations of atmospheric temperature, it is free to pass through the bearing and will not be deflected, bent, or under any tension, as would be the case if there were collars at the ends of both bearings.

From Project Gutenberg

The nut for the lead screw is secured either in or out of gear with the screw in the same manner, x′, Fig.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023