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FASTENING
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of fastening things together
Synonyms:
attachment; fastening
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("fastening" is a kind of...):
connection; connexion; joining (the act of bringing two things into contact (especially for communication))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fastening"):
bonding; soldering (fastening firmly together)
doweling (fastening by dowels)
earthing; grounding (fastening electrical equipment to earth)
linkage (the act of linking things together)
ligature; tying (the act of tying or binding things together)
welding (fastening two pieces of metal together by softening with heat and applying pressure)
fixation (the activity of fastening something firmly in position)
Derivation:
fasten (cause to be firmly attached)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place
Synonyms:
fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("fastening" is a kind of...):
constraint; restraint (a device that retards something's motion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fastening"):
knot (any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object)
lashing (rope that is used for fastening something to something else)
link; linkup; tie; tie-in (a fastener that serves to join or connect)
lock (a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed)
locker (a fastener that locks or closes)
nail (a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener)
nut and bolt (a fastener made by screwing a nut onto a threaded bolt)
paper fastener (a fastener for holding a sheet of paper in place)
pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)
screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)
seal (fastener that provides a tight and perfect closure)
seal; sealing wax (fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters)
slide fastener; zip; zip fastener; zipper (a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab)
press stud; snap; snap fastener (a fastener used on clothing; fastens with a snapping sound)
toggle (a fastener consisting of a peg or pin or crosspiece that is inserted into an eye at the end of a rope or a chain or a cable in order to fasten it to something (as another rope or chain or cable))
toggle bolt (a fastener consisting of a threaded bolt and a hinged spring-loaded toggle; used to fasten objects to hollow walls)
hook and eye (a kind of fastener used on clothing)
fillet; stopping (fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members)
dowel; dowel pin; joggle (a fastener that is inserted into holes in two adjacent pieces and holds them together)
cringle; eyelet; grommet; grummet; loop (fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines)
cottar; cotter (fastener consisting of a wedge or pin inserted through a slot to hold two other pieces together)
corrugated fastener; wiggle nail (a small strip of corrugated steel with sharp points on one side; hammered across wood joints in rough carpentry)
clothes peg; clothes pin; clothespin (wood or plastic fastener; for holding clothes on a clothesline)
clip (any of various small fasteners used to hold loose articles together)
clinch (the flattened part of a nail or bolt or rivet)
cleat (a fastener (usually with two projecting horns) around which a rope can be secured)
clasp (a fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together)
catch (a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window)
carabiner; karabiner; snap ring (an oblong metal ring with a spring clip; used in mountaineering to attach a rope to a piton or to connect two ropes)
button (a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes)
buckle (fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong)
bellyband (a strap around the belly of a draft animal holding the shafts of a wagon)
Derivation:
fasten (become fixed or fastened)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb fasten
Context examples:
Well, Pompey, you may not be fast, but I expect you will be too fast for a couple of middle-aged London gentlemen, so I will take the liberty of fastening this leather leash to your collar.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Nobody talked much, but as the time drew very near and they sat waiting for the carriage, Mrs. March said to the girls, who were all busied about her, one folding her shawl, another smoothing out the strings of her bonnet, a third putting on her overshoes, and a fourth fastening up her travelling bag...
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes! she cried, glancing from one to the other of us, and finally, with a woman’s quick intuition, fastening upon my companion, I am so glad that you have come.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
‘I don’t wonder that you are surprised,’ said she, and I could see that her fingers were trembling as she undid the fastenings of her mantle. ‘Why, I never remember having done such a thing in my life before.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Oh! then, said I, I must run across, I am sure Miss Woodhouse will allow me just to run across and entreat her to come in; my mother will be so very happy to see her—and now we are such a nice party, she cannot refuse.—'Aye, pray do,' said Mr. Frank Churchill, 'Miss Woodhouse's opinion of the instrument will be worth having.'—But, said I, I shall be more sure of succeeding if one of you will go with me.—'Oh,' said he, 'wait half a minute, till I have finished my job;'—For, would you believe it, Miss Woodhouse, there he is, in the most obliging manner in the world, fastening in the rivet of my mother's spectacles.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
He was clothed with tatters of old ship's canvas and old sea-cloth, and this extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass buttons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He then commanded his men to row up to that side, and fastening a cable to one of the staples, ordered them to tow my chest, as they called it, toward the ship.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
By the side of the track the old dame was standing, fastening her red whimple once more round her head.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He looked at me: I happened to be near him, as I had been fastening the clasp of Mrs. Dent's bracelet, which had got loose.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
The coastguard said the man must have tied up his own hands, fastening the knots with his teeth.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
