# jack nut

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A type of nut with a sheet metal body that mushrooms outward, on the far side of the hole through the substrate, when the screw is screwed in, thus providing anchoring with only one-sided access to the hole. It is nearly equivalent to the female portion of a molly bolt.

## Etymology
From the idea that the nut is jacked into its deformed (expanded) state by a jackscrew-like action of the screw. In practice this step is often performed with a tool that screws in and backs out again, and then the final mating screw follows afterward.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/jack-nut