Skip to main content
screw

screw

8 5.1
A rotating blade that pushes water or air, like on a ship
  • noun
  • /skruː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hélice
  • Kaeser has added the CSD 100 and CSD 125 to its line of rotary screw compressors.
  • air-screw
  • twin-screw ship
  • Archimedes screw

Examples

  • Tube-mounted screw pump features a rotating screw with a stationary tube.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Nowadays, power-driven pumping engines do the job, including one of the largest water screw pumping stations in Europe.

    Academic text (2006)
  • It's a number 3 Robertson screw.

  • The vessel was steered by giving more power to one screw or less to the other.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The ship's screw efficiently pushed it through the water, allowing for smooth sailing.

  • The aircraft's screw design helped optimize fuel efficiency during flight by utilizing its rotating blades.

  • As the screw turned, it propelled the water upwards in a continuous stream for irrigation.

Synonyms

propeller
vsscrew
46 3.9

A set of blades that spin to push a boat or plane forward

is the key term highlighting angled blades and ship or aircraft use
prop
vsscrew
16 4.6

A part with blades that turns to push a plane or boat forward

is the fuller, more formal term rather than the short name
screw propeller
vsscrew
  • Specialized
5.3

A device with angled blades that turns to push a boat or plane forward

is the same device often used on ships or aircraft
airscrew
vsscrew
  • Archaic
9.4

A propeller on a plane that pushes it through the air

is broader, covering devices that push either water or air
airplane propeller
vsscrew
  • US
3.9

A set of blades that spin to push air and move a plane forward

is more general and also applies to marine and other uses

Idioms

to screw the pooch
  • Offensive
9 9.9

Make a very bad mistake because you are not careful

screw this
  • Offensive
1 9.8

An angry short phrase you say when you give up or stop doing something

An event that makes a tense or difficult situation worse

Compounds

screw-up
  • Informal
33 6.1

A careless mistake that causes problems or embarrassment

screw-up
  • Offensive
22 7.0

A person who often makes mistakes in important situations

screw-loose
  • Offensive
12 9.0

Behaving in a strange or not sensible way

machine screw
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A metal screw with the same width along its length used with a nut or in a threaded hole

1 2.8

A small metal piece with a spiral thread that you turn to hold things together

screw eye
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A short metal rod with a round loop at one end for hanging things

A tool for pulling a cork out of a bottle

cap screw
  • Specialized
6.6

A screw with a finished head that you screw into a threaded hole to hold machine parts together

Allen screw
  • Specialized
6.3

A screw with a six-sided hole in the head that you turn with a hex key

6.8

A large strong screw with a square or six-sided head driven with a wrench into wood to hold heavy things

A small shrub with hairy leaves and bright orange-red flowers

Phillips screw
  • Specialized
3.9

A screw with a cross-shaped slot in its head that you turn with a matching screwdriver

screw jack
  • Specialized
5.6

A tool that lifts heavy things by turning a screw, often used to raise a car

screw key
  • Specialized
5.5

A small tool that fits into a screw head to turn it

screw log
  • Archaic
9.9

A long round object with rotating fins that measures how fast a ship moves in water

screw auger
  • Specialized
7.7

A hand tool with a spiral metal blade that makes holes in wood

screw augur
  • Specialized
9.9

A kind of orchid that has tall stems and a spiral of small white, sweet-smelling flowers

screw bean
  • Specialized
9.8

A dry-land shrub or small tree with spiral seed pods from the US Southwest and Mexico

screw bean
  • Specialized
9.9

A sweet spiral seed pod from a dry-land tree that animals eat or people grind into meal

A tropical tree with strong roots that grow above the ground, long narrow leaves, and conelike edible fruit

A tool with one movable jaw that you move by turning a screw to hold nuts or bolts

screw press
  • Specialized
6.4

A machine that uses a long turned metal rod to squeeze liquid from solid things

screw propeller
  • Specialized
5.3

A device with angled blades that turns to push a boat or plane forward

screw thread
  • Specialized
5.0

A raised spiral on a screw or bolt makes it hold things when you turn it

A tropical tree or shrub with seed pods twisted like a spiral

screw-pine family
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of woody plants including Pandanus and similar species with long fibrous leaves

textile screw pine
  • Australian
9.9

A tropical plant with long strong leaves people use to weave mats and hats

wing screw
  • Specialized
5.5

A small metal part with flat side pieces you can turn by hand to hold things together

How Powerful

screw
  • Specialized
8 5.1
propeller
46 3.9

Surface Forms

screw singular
screws plural

Etymology

The ship or plane screw is named after the same 'spiral' idea as the metal fastener; when the screw turns it pushes water or air back and so moves the boat or plane forward.