hook and eye

American  

noun

1. a two-piece clothes fastener, usually of metal, consisting of a hook that catches onto a loop or bar.

2. a three-piece latching device consisting of a hook attached to a screw eye or an eyebolt and a separate screw eye or eyebolt that the hook engages as it bridges a gap, as one between a door and a jamb or a gate and a gatepost.

3. Also called eyehook.  the two-piece portion of such a device consisting of a hook and a screw eye.

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hook and eye British  

noun

1. a fastening for clothes consisting of a small hook hooked onto a small metal or thread loop

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Etymology

Origin of hook and eye

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

I can get them fer her easy enough; the twins have been helping her some, one with a sinker and the other with a hook and eye.

From The Best Short Stories of 1919 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story by O'Brien, Edward J. (Edward Joseph Harrington)

Not only have I examined the various materials for stains, but I've tested each hook and eye and button and pin.

From The Film Mystery by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)

I gasped, as Sallie fastened the last hook and eye and stood beside Mammy to admire me.

From The Heart's Kingdom by Daviess, Maria Thompson

—They're only in the hook and eye department, Myles Crawford said.

From Ulysses by Joyce, James

Did you feel a thrill of pleasure when the last hook and eye was fastened and you surveyed yourself in the longest mirror in the house?

From Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshmen Girls by Flower, Jessie Graham [pseud.]

Related Words

• hook
• snap