nuts and bolts
Americannoun
plural noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nuts and bolts
First recorded in 1955–60
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.
Theo Francis covers how U.S. companies work behind the scenes: executive pay, perks, workplace and retirement, accounting, disclosure — the nuts and bolts most people don't see.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
“If you don’t know the ins and outs and nuts and bolts inside City Hall, how are you going to be mayor?” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Consider the personal-finance nuts and bolts involved in that kind of situation.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026
It will take longer to thrash out the nuts and bolts that would need to underpin a complex agreement.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
Meanwhile Nicolas had gone to fetch Amanda in old Covadonga, which still ran, though it barely sputtered along on its remaining nuts and bolts, lost in a black cloud of burning oil.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
