to screw
- verb
- /skru/
- Informal
- The first way banks try to screw you into paying them is?
- get screwed
Well folks, I got screwed and I'm very sorry.
- Well folks, I got screwed and I'm very sorry.
- I've been, you know, screwed over more times.
- There'll be shortages of things because he has screwed us in the end.
- The first way banks try to screw you into paying them is?
- And yet we're still telling kids they're screwed without their paper.
- You can't love another and you're screwed in this world.
- Can't take nothing from him, but he does screw those guys.
Examples
-
You were trying to screw us.
-
I never knew what he was going to do - except screw me most of the time.
Academic text (2006) -
So we're sort of saying screw you to the middle class here.
-
We have done nothing but screw up since we left the house.
Fiction book (1990) -
I screwed up, and Michael spent eight years in prison.
-
And then not having an alarm clock turns out to screw you, Norm.
-
Well folks, I got screwed and I'm very sorry.
-
You better not screw up Dad's car.
-
There's a lot riding on this, so don't screw it up.
-
The company tried to screw the workers by cutting their bonuses without warning.
Synonyms
To act dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage
To treat someone unfairly or cheat them
To trick someone and take their money or things
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
A metal screw with the same width along its length used with a nut or in a threaded hole
- Specialized
A screw with a finished head that you screw into a threaded hole to hold machine parts together
- US
A large strong screw with a square or six-sided head driven with a wrench into wood to hold heavy things
- Specialized
A screw with a cross-shaped slot in its head that you turn with a matching screwdriver
- Specialized
A tool that lifts heavy things by turning a screw, often used to raise a car
- Archaic
A long round object with rotating fins that measures how fast a ship moves in water
- Specialized
A kind of orchid that has tall stems and a spiral of small white, sweet-smelling flowers
- Specialized
A dry-land shrub or small tree with spiral seed pods from the US Southwest and Mexico
- Specialized
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
- Specialized
A machine that uses a long turned metal rod to squeeze liquid from solid things
- Specialized
A device with angled blades that turns to push a boat or plane forward
- Specialized
A raised spiral on a screw or bolt makes it hold things when you turn it
- Specialized
A group of woody plants including Pandanus and similar species with long fibrous leaves
- Australian
A tropical plant with long strong leaves people use to weave mats and hats
- Specialized
A small metal part with flat side pieces you can turn by hand to hold things together
How Dishonest
Surface Forms
Etymology
To screw someone (to cheat or treat unfairly) likely comes from the image of 'turning' or 'pressing' someone into a bad position, so if you get 'screwed' you are put at a clear disadvantage.