rivet
- a metal pin for passing through holes in two or more plates or pieces to hold them together, usually made with a head at one end, the other end being hammered into a head after insertion.
- 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.
Origin of rivet
Related Words for rivet
screw, pin, nut, rod, pipe, fastener, spike, latch, rivet, tickle, fascinate, excite, captivate, please, delight, pique, entertain, charm, titillate, attractExamples from the Web for rivet
Contemporary Examples of rivet
He looked at the thin sheet of metal ringed by rivet holes and he knew instantly what it was his wife had chanced upon.
Looked at in closeup, it reveals a row of popped rivets, with one rivet still partially stuck in place.
Historical Examples of rivet
He struck the rivet such a blow that he snapped one shank of his spur short off.
Chip, of the Flying UB. M. Bower
This sight seemed to rivet Florent to the ground with surprise.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
We must rivet the attention of the public from the start, he says.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
God created him when He drove in one rivet to feel the whole of the ship.
The Ghost in the White HouseGerald Stanley Lee
Not a rivet fell, but that its fall was noted—in quintuplicate.
The Misplaced BattleshipHarry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)
rivet
- a short metal pin for fastening two or more pieces together, having a head at one end, the other end being hammered flat after being passed through holes in the pieces
- 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, etcto be riveted to the spot
Word Origin for rivet
Word Origin and History for rivet
c.1400, from Old French rivet "nail, rivet," from Old French river "to clench, fix, fasten," possibly from Middle Dutch wriven "turn, grind," related to rive (v.). The English word may be directly from Middle Dutch.