hook and eye

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.

hook and eye

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hook and eye¹

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

Fed upon French rolls and lobster salad and apricot tarts, and give her a lady's maid to hook-and-eye her gown for her!

From Project Gutenberg

Some there may be who regard pictures as implements of idolatry, while the Hook-and-Eye Baptists look upon buttons as immoral.

From Project Gutenberg

A clasp of leather and a European hook-and-eye fastened the edges.

From Project Gutenberg

It is fastened together by a hook-and-eye arrangement, exactly like those used on ladies' dresses.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hook
• snap