rivet
Americannoun
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rivets
plural
verb (used with object)
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rivets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
riveted,
past participle, past
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riveting
present participle
-
to fasten with a rivet or rivets.
-
to hammer or spread out the end of (a pin, bolt, etc.) in order to form a head and secure something; clinch.
-
to fasten or fix firmly.
-
to hold (the eye, attention, etc.) firmly.
noun
verb
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to join by riveting
-
to hammer in order to form into a head
-
(often passive) to cause to be fixed or held firmly, as in fascinated attention, horror, etc
to be riveted to the spot
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rivetsimple
-
rivetssimple
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have rivetedperfect
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has rivetedperfect
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am rivetingprogressive
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are rivetingprogressive
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is rivetingprogressive
-
have been rivetingperfect progressive
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has been rivetingperfect progressive
Past
-
rivetedsimple
-
had rivetedperfect
-
was rivetingprogressive
-
were rivetingprogressive
-
had been rivetingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rivet
First recorded in 1350–1400; (noun) Middle English revette, rivette, from Old French rivet, derivative of river “to attach”; (verb) Middle English revetten, derivative of the noun
Explanation
A rivet is a metal fastener, a bolt-like device that holds together two pieces of metal or fabric. The round metal fasteners on your favorite pair of jeans are rivets. Older buildings with metal frames like the Eiffel Tower are held together with rivets, and so are some bridges and military vehicles. Furniture upholstery often involves rivets, too. When you use a rivet to fasten, you can say you rivet — and similarly, to hold attention or captivate is also to rivet. The Old French root is river, "to clench or fasten."
Vocabulary lists containing rivet
Esperanza Rising
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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And Then There Were None
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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:
"On the fuselage, everything is done manually, so every hole, every rivet you see on the fuselage is being done manually," Operations Director Victor Ocadiz told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Acne Studios rivet wine box bag from the brand’s spring/summer ’24 collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
In a letter addressed to leaders of the Senate, Homendy said the door plug which failed had been opened so rivet repair work could be done in September last year.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2024
The rivet repairs were done by contractors working for Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
After it was all the way out, the workmen rushed to rivet the plates back into place and close up the hole in The Dessoug.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Small amounts of iron from parts such as rivets and other fasteners mix into the recycled metal.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
The pieces are instantly recognizable as hers: hand-laced rivets holding together a bustier in the shape of a broken heart, the way one of her spiked choker handbags seems to defy gravity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2024
Some of these rivets have been tested to see if they contain any impurities.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2024
Now JetBlue has said that it may try to back out, potentially setting up the kind of messy deal divorce drama that rivets investors.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
One test required Mary to clamber onto the catwalk of the wind tunnel, measuring how rivets disrupted the airflow over a particular model.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Elle knows this because she studies fashion magazines with the same riveted attention she devotes to preparing for the LSATs, so she can score the 179 she needs to qualify for admission consideration.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
And the eyes of the world remain riveted to the case - while global sympathies remain with Guthrie's family.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
The 12-foot-tall press punches ribbons of the sheet steel into hardened metal dies that bend and shape the steel into dump-truck beds, frames and other parts that are riveted together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
Their small faces are riveted as he passes around a leaf from a California bay laurel tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
The World Cup was a riveting first chapter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The campaign was riveting and Hampden was rocking like rarely before.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
It’s a riveting, physical, historically high-scoring Stanley Cup Final, currently tied at two games apiece in a Best-of-7 between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Rather, it is a riveting, haunting, incisive and melancholy document that provides the ultimate example of a writer bearing witness and holding evil to account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
She left a riveting bitter blob of cucumber froth behind.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
