Meanings
verbfasten (third-person singular simple present fastens, present participle fastening, simple past and past participle fastened)
present singular third person fastens · participle present fastening · participle past fastened · past fastened
- ambitransitiveTo attach or connect in a secure manner.
Fasten your seat belts!
3 more examples
The sailor fastened the boat to the dock with a half-hitch.
Can you fasten these boards together with some nails?
The words Whig and Tory have been pressed to the service of many successions of parties, with very different ideas fastened to them.
May 31, 1711, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner No. 43 - To cause to take close effect; to make to tell; to land.
to fasten a blow
1 more example
if I can fasten but one cup upon him
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*fastinōn“to secure, fasten”
- Old Englishfæstnian
- Middle Englishfastenen
- Englishfasten
From Middle English fastenen, from Old English fæstnian, from Proto-West Germanic *fastinōn (“to secure, fasten”). Equivalent to fast + -en.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πήγνυμι, ἐξάπτω
- πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- ἐξάπτω (exáptō)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Bulgarian свързвам, закрепвам
- свързвам (svărzvam)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- закрепвам (zakrepvam)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Catalan cordar
- cordarto attach or connect in a secure manner
Chinese Mandarin 系住, 扣住
- 系住 (xìzhù)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- 扣住 (kòuzhù)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- 閂上 /闩上 (shuānshàng)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Czech připoutat, připevnit
- připoutatto attach or connect in a secure manner
- připevnitto attach or connect in a secure manner
Danish fastgøre, fæstne
- fastgøreto attach or connect in a secure manner
- fæstneto attach or connect in a secure manner
- sætte fastto attach or connect in a secure manner
- hæfteto attach or connect in a secure manner
Dutch vastmaken
- vastmakento attach or connect in a secure manner
Finnish kiinnittää
- kiinnittääto attach or connect in a secure manner
French attacher, fixer
- attacherto attach or connect in a secure manner
- fixerto attach or connect in a secure manner
German befestigen, festmachen
- befestigento attach or connect in a secure manner
- festmachento attach or connect in a secure manner
Greek δένω
- δένω (déno)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Hungarian rögzít
- rögzítto attach or connect in a secure manner
Irish ceangail, greamaigh
- ceangailto attach or connect in a secure manner
- greamaighto attach or connect in a secure manner
Japanese 締める, 留める
- 締める (shimeru)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- 留める (tomeru)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Latin nectō, pangō
- nectōto attach or connect in a secure manner
- pangōto attach or connect in a secure manner
Lithuanian segti
- segtito attach or connect in a secure manner
Māori whakatina, whakangita
- whakatinato attach or connect in a secure manner
- whakangitato attach or connect in a secure manner
- tīponato attach or connect in a secure manner
- makatitito attach or connect in a secure manner
- pineto attach or connect in a secure manner
- titito attach or connect in a secure manner
- whakamauto attach or connect in a secure manner
- whakapirito attach or connect in a secure manner
- whakarapato attach or connect in a secure manner
- whakarawato attach or connect in a secure manner
- kōtuito attach or connect in a secure manner
- tautarato attach or connect in a secure manner
Norwegian spenne fast
- spenne fastto attach or connect in a secure manner
Norwegian Bokmål feste
- festeto attach or connect in a secure manner
Persian بستن
- بستن (bastan)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Polish zapinać, zapiąć
- zapinaćto attach or connect in a secure manner
- zapiąćto attach or connect in a secure manner
Portuguese apertar, atar
- apertarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- atarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- firmarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- segurarto attach or connect in a secure manner
Romanian fixa, atașa
- fixato attach or connect in a secure manner
- atașato attach or connect in a secure manner
Russian закрепля́ть, крепи́ть
- закрепля́ть (zakrepljátʹ)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- крепи́ть (krepítʹ)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- закрепи́ть (zakrepítʹ)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- привя́зывать (privjázyvatʹ)to attach or connect in a secure manner
- привяза́ть (privjazátʹ)to attach or connect in a secure manner
Spanish atar, abrochar
- atarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- abrocharto attach or connect in a secure manner
- fijarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- prenderto attach or connect in a secure manner
- sujetarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- subjectarto attach or connect in a secure manner
- pegarto attach or connect in a secure manner
Swedish fästa, sätta fast
- fästato attach or connect in a secure manner
- sätta fastto attach or connect in a secure manner
- spänna fastto attach or connect in a secure manner
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
fasten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fasten
MLA
“fasten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fasten. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fasten,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fasten.
Source: fasten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.