fastener

American  

[fas-uh-ner, fah-suh-] / ˈfæs ə nər, ˈfɑ sə- /

noun

1. any of various devices for fastening.

2. any of various devices, as a snap or hook and eye, for holding together two objects or parts sometimes required to be separate, as two edges or flaps of a piece of clothing.

3. a worker who fastens things together.

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Other Word Forms

• unfastener noun

Etymology

Origin of fastener

First recorded in 1620–30; fasten + -er ¹

Explanation

A fastener is a device that attaches one thing to another or holds something in place, whether it's the fastener that secures a baby in her car seat or the fasteners you use to snap your jacket shut. If you go into a hardware store to buy fasteners, you'll come out with some kind of hardware you can use to fasten things together. Screws, bolts, and nails are all fasteners. Unlike welding and soldering, they're a non-permanent way to connect things. If you do a lot of sewing, you also use a variety of fasteners, from snaps and buttons to Velcro and hooks. A fastener makes things fast, or secure.

Example Sentences

Fastenal declines after the fastener maker reports quarterly results in line with analysts’ estimates.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

The titular “hare with the amber eyes” in Edmund de Waal’s memoir is a netsuke, a tiny Japanese carving intended as a fastener for use with a kimono.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Boeing removed every fastener on each of the five circumferential joins on all of those airplanes, about 2,000 fasteners for each join, and measured the gap at each hole — a so-called “through-hole” inspection.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2024

The gold fastener will now be independently valued and Mr Needham will split the finder's fee with the landowner.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2024

He picked up a brown clipboard from a desk and popped the fastener up and down while he tried to decide what to do with us.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Related Words

• latch
• screw