Definition of RIVET

rivet

Meanings

Plural: rivets

Noun

  • ornament consisting of a circular rounded protuberance (as on a vault or shield or belt)
  • heavy pin having a head at one end and the other end being hammered flat after being passed through holes in the pieces that are fastened together
  • A cylindrical mechanical fastener that attaches multiple parts together by fitting through a hole and deforming the head(s) at either end.
  • Any fixed point or certain basis.
  • A light kind of footman's plate armour; an almain rivet.

Verb

  • direct one's attention on something
  • fasten with a rivet or rivets
  • hold (someone's attention)
    • "The discovery of the skull riveted the paleontologists"
  • To attach or fasten parts by using rivets.
  • To install rivets.
  • To command the attention of.
  • To make firm or immovable.

Origin / Etymology

From Old French rivet (13th century), from the verb Old French river (“to fetter [a person]”) (12th century), from Old French rive (“rim, edge”) (ca. 1100), which is ultimately from Latin ripa (“riverbank”). Compare river, rival, riparian.
The sense "kind of footman's armour" is apparently a back-formation from almain rivet, which is apparently derived from the English noun; see that entry for more.

Scrabble Score: 8

rivet is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
rivet is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
rivet is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

rivet is a valid Words With Friends word