Lexic.us

Definition of Screw up

1. Verb. Make more intense. "Emotions were screwed up"

2. Verb. Make a mess of, destroy or ruin. "The pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement"

3. Verb. Screw or turn higher.

4. Verb. Twist into a strained configuration. "Screw up one's face"

Definition of Screw up

1. Verb. (transitive) To tighten or secure with screws. ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) To raise (rent, fees, etc.) to extortionate levels. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) To twist into a contorted state ¹

4. Verb. (transitive colloquial) To make a mess of; to ruin. ¹

5. Verb. (intransitive colloquial) To blunder; to make a mistake. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Screw Up

screw over screw pile screw pinch screw pine screw propeller screw shoe screw shoes screw that screw the pooch screw this

screw thread screw threads screw top screw tops screw tree screw up screw with screw worm infection screw wrench screwability

screwback screwball screwball comedies screwball comedy screwballer screwbean screwbean mesquite

Literary usage of Screw up

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1916)
"screw up once a week. screw up once a week. month with grease gun. ... screw up once a month. Remove cap and grease once a month with grease gun. ..."

2. The American Cotton Spinner and Managers' and Carders' Guide: A Practical by Robert H. Baird (1851)
"Before turning up a card preparatory to clothing it, always remove previously the heads of the wooden cylinders, and screw up tight all the stave-bolts; ..."

3. Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia by Andrew Lee Dyke (1919)
"If it is found that the clearance is not right, loosen the lock nut on the tappet screw and turn the screw up or down as may be required to obtain the ..."

4. The Marine Steam Turbine: A Practical Illustrated Description of the Parsons by John William Major Sothern (1918)
"Ease back bottom half block aft, slack indicator nut until it reads the required clearance, then screw up back nut to secure wedge. ..."

5. The Marine Steam Turbine: A Practical Illustrated Description of the Parsons by John William Major Sothern (1920)
"Ease back bottom half block aft, slack indicator nut until it reads the required clearance, then screw up back nut to secure wedge. ..."

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