FASTEN • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Fasten

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/fˈæsən/ Listen

verb

Fasten v. t. (past & past part. fastened; pres. part. fastening)

To fix firmly; to make fast; to secure, as by a knot, lock, bolt, etc.; as, to fasten a chain to the feet; to fasten a door or window.

To cause to hold together or to something else; to attach or unite firmly; to cause to cleave to something, or to cleave together, by any means; as, to fasten boards together with nails or cords; to fasten anything in our thoughts. "The words Whig and Tory have been pressed to the service of many successions of parties, with very different ideas fastened to them."

To cause to take close effect; to make to tell; to lay on; as, to fasten a blow. (Obs.) "If I can fasten but one cup upon him."

To fasten a charge upon or To fasten a crime upon, to make his guilt certain, or so probable as to be generally believed.

To fasten one's eyes upon, to look upon steadily without cessation.

Synonyms: To fix; cement; stick; link; affix; annex.

Fasten v. i. To fix one's self; to take firm hold; to clinch; to cling. "A horse leech will hardly fasten on a fish."

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Etymology of 'Fasten'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Fasten" Quotes from Famous Books

... discovery. I now swear, and record the oath on this page, That I nevermore will discuss this mystery with any human creature until I hold the clue to it in my hand. That I never will relax in my secrecy or in my search. That I will fasten the crime of the murder of my dear dead boy upon the murderer. And, That I devote myself to ...

— The Mystery of Edwin Drood • Charles Dickens

... the man, Abraham Lincoln, whose death had but just closed the national tragedy, is delineated in a manner that gives this poet a preeminence, among those who capture likeness in enduring verse, that we award to Velasquez among those who fasten it upon the canvas. 'One of Plutarch's men' is before us, face to face; an historic character whom Lowell fully comprehended, and to whose height he reached in this great strophe. Scarcely less fine is his tearful, yet transfiguring, Avete to the ...

— The Vision of Sir Launfal - And Other Poems • James Russell Lowell

... that. We shall be greatly encouraged if you decide to go. I discussed the matter with Benjamin since I did with you, and he would be glad to go if his business and family did not fasten him here. I think he would rather ...

— From Boyhood to Manhood • William M. Thayer

... and calling for help; everyone in the house was terribly upset. Nimfodora Semyonovna ran out with her hair down, the voices in the yard grew louder—and all at once I heard: 'Hold the gate, hold it, fasten it!' I opened the door—just a crack, and looked out: the monster was no longer on the steps, the servants were rushing about the yard in confusion waving their hands and picking up bits of wood from the ground; they were quite crazy. ...

— Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories • Ivan Turgenev

... for light. 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. When it was there, he gave directions to fasten another cable to the ring fixed in the cover, and to raise up my chest with pulleys, which all the sailors were not able to do above two or three foot. He said they saw my stick and handkerchief thrust out of the hole, ...

— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 • Charles Sylvester

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