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.
On a nuts and bolts level, it’s all screwed together tight, even the pieces that stick out at weird angles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
Consider the personal-finance nuts and bolts involved in that kind of situation.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026
A nuts and bolts player, who has had a breakthrough.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
After research in the BMW archives to figure out what needed to be done, I replaced all the nuts and bolts with factory-looking originals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
There were small nuts and bolts, and screws, and tiny fragments of metal and rubber.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
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.
