fasten

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈfæsn̩/ UK /ˈfɑːsn̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #12529

Meanings

1

verb
To join or attach two things firmly together.

Please fasten your seatbelt before the plane takes off.
2

verb
To close or become closed and held in place.

This dress fastens at the back with a zip.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to join or attach two... fix

Word family

Forms fastenedfasteningfastens

Derived forms bedfastbreastfastcolorfastcopperfastencragfastfastfastenablefastenerfasteninghandfastheadfastholdfast

Etymology

From Middle English fastenen, from Old English fæstnian, from Proto-West Germanic *fastinōn (“to secure, fasten”). Equivalent to fast + -en.

*peh₂ǵ- Proto-Indo-European fastenen Middle English fæstnian Old English *fastinōn Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

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# fasten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈfæsn̩/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɑːsn̩/
**Frequency rank:** 12529

## Meanings
1. To join or attach two things firmly together.
2. To close or become closed and held in place.

## Examples
- Please fasten your seatbelt before the plane takes off.
- This dress fastens at the back with a zip.

## Derived Forms
- bedfast
- breastfast
- colorfast
- copperfasten
- cragfast
- fast
- fastenable
- fastener
- fastening
- handfast
- headfast
- holdfast

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peh₂ǵ-
- Root: fastenen
- Root: fæstnian
- Root: *fastinōn

## Etymology
From Middle English fastenen, from Old English fæstnian, from Proto-West Germanic *fastinōn (“to secure, fasten”). Equivalent to fast + -en.

## AI Etymology
Fasten comes from Middle English fastenen, from Old English fæstnian, from Proto-West Germanic *fastinōn (“to secure, fasten”). Equivalent to fast + -en. In current use, the main senses are “To join or attach two things firmly together” and “To close or become closed and held in place”.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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fasten

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