rivet

noun

riv·et | \ˈri-vət

Definition of rivet

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a headed pin or bolt of metal used for uniting two or more pieces by passing the shank through a hole in each piece and then beating or pressing down the plain end so as to make a second head

rivet

verb

riveted; riveting; rivets

Definition of rivet (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to fasten with or as if with rivets

2 : to upset the end or point of (something, such as a metallic pin, rod, or bolt) by beating or pressing so as to form a head

3 : to fasten or fix firmly stood riveted by fright

4 : to attract and hold (something, such as a person's attention) completely

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Examples of rivet in a Sentence

Verb

The iron plates are riveted rather than welded. everyone riveted their eyes on the trick that the magician was performing on stage

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The final design called for 18,000 pieces of puddle iron and an incredible 2.5 million rivets. — Lauren Smith, House Beautiful, "12 Things You Didn't Know About the Eiffel Tower," 8 Oct. 2015 As the gun was pulled away, the rivet broke apart and disappeared. — Bill Van Niekerken, San Francisco Chronicle, "1930s Golden Gate Bridge construction photos rescued from ruin," 22 May 2018 Each canoe is handcrafted: Resin layers are brushed on, rivets are attached individually around the gunwales. — Michael Stilwell, Popular Mechanics, "Made in the USA: One Awesome Thing Built in Each State," 29 June 2017 Last month India raised tariffs on a slew of American imports from chickpeas to rivets in retaliation for the United States hiking duties on steel and aluminum. — Joanna Slater, Washington Post, "Mike Pompeo was supposed to meet with his Indian counterpart. He went to North Korea instead.," 6 July 2018 Photo: Shiho Fukada for The Wall Street Journal Another signature of the Momotaro jeans: invisible rivets. — Suryatapa Bhattacharya, WSJ, "The Hottest Jeans Cost $2,000 and Are Made in Japan," 5 June 2018 The project was supposed to be wrapped up in 2016 but was delayed for reasons that included needing more time for historically accurate construction techniques, such as using rivets in order to preserve the century-old bridge’s period character. — Adam Vaccaro, BostonGlobe.com, "After years of reconstruction, Longfellow Bridge reopened 5 a.m. Thursday," 31 May 2018 Both the dental records and the rivet proved fruitless in identifying the victim. — Cassie Dickman, sacbee, "Could DNA technology help identify body from dumpster fire nearly 20 years ago? | The Sacramento Bee," 26 May 2018 So, in that way, discarding the rivets feels almost contentious—and potentially bad business. — Cam Wolf, GQ, "3x1 Made Jeans for Our Candy-Ass 21st-Century Lifestyle," 25 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Both parties are riveted on Florida, after the upset victory by Tallahassee MayorAndrew Gillum in the Aug. 28 Democratic gubernatorial primary. — Janet Hook, WSJ, "Trump Looms Over Fight for Control of the Senate," 2 Sep. 2018 The complex, high-risk mission for international and Thai divers to guide the boys and coach through the cave's flooded and tight passageways had riveted people worldwide. — Kaweewit Kaewjinda, chicagotribune.com, "Hospital: Kids rescued from flooded cave in Thailand lost weight, drank dripping water," 11 July 2018 The complex, high-risk mission for international and Thai divers to guide the boys and coach through the cave’s flooded and tight passageways had riveted people worldwide. — Author: Kaweewit Kaewjinda, Anchorage Daily News, "Kids lost weight but ‘took care of themselves’ in Thai cave," 11 July 2018 More: '17 days that will be remembered forever': All are safe in riveting Thai cave rescue Immediate recovery will likely involve replenishing fluids and combating the effects of starvation and dehydration, Wineandy said. — Caroline Simon, USA TODAY, "The Thai soccer team is out of the cave. But the road to recovery is just beginning.," 10 July 2018 Their narcissism is repellent yet riveting, and Mr. Côté comes at his subjects with an artful, exploratory obliqueness that’s endearingly curious, as if discovering a whole new species. — Denis Côté, New York Times, "Review: Six Strongmen Cultivate ‘A Skin So Soft’," 5 July 2018 Drive along 290 West, take a peek over to Holy Cross and Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, and the Needham and St. Peter-Marian baseball teams may be still packing up their gear from their riveting Division 1 final. — Craig Larson, BostonGlobe.com, "The spring season got off to a soggy start, but had a brilliant finish," 28 June 2018 Giacometti’s dedication is what rivets us to him and has reliably come, should money be involved, to break the bank—a spiritual gold standard for a time of nervous suspicion that art’s prestige has outrun its supply lines of meaning. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "Giacometti’s Skinny Sublimity," 6 June 2018 North Korea brings the noise The sight of senior North Korean officials stepping foot inside the South for the Olympics riveted Koreans. — Rima Abdelkader, NBC News, "Highs and lows of the PyeongChang Olympics: Team USA soars — and stumbles," 24 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rivet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.