wrench

RENCH/ɹɛnt͡ʃ/

24 meanings of wrench

1
nounCanadaPhilippinesUScountable
A metal hand tool used to turn nuts, bolts, or pipes to make them tight or loose.
Like a strong hand that grips and turns metal parts you cannot move with your fingers.
He grabbed a wrench to loosen the rusty bolt.
The plumber tightened the pipe with a heavy wrench.
Similarspanner
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2
verbtransitive
To pull or twist something hard and suddenly.
Like pulling a weed out of the ground with one hard tug.
He had to wrench the stuck drawer free.
She wrenched the wheel to avoid the dog.
Similartwist, yank, jerk, wrest, force
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3
nouncountable
A sudden, hard pulling or twisting movement.
Like the hard pull you give to open a stuck drawer.
She gave the rope a sharp wrench to free it.
With one wrench, he pulled the branch loose.
Similartwist, yank, tug, jerk, pull
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4
nouncountable
An injury from twisting or pulling a body part too hard.
Like the sore feeling you get after twisting your ankle the wrong way.
She got a bad wrench in her back lifting the box.
A sudden wrench to his shoulder kept him off the field.
Similarsprain, strain, twist
5
verbtransitive
To hurt a joint by twisting or pulling it.
Like twisting your ankle so badly that it hurts to walk.
Don't wrench your shoulder reaching for the top shelf.
He wrenched his knee during the game.
Similarsprain, strain, twist, pull
6
nounUKcountable
An adjustable tool that plumbers use to grip and turn pipes and large nuts.
Like a tool whose grip you can make bigger or smaller to fit a pipe.
The plumber used a wrench to grip the pipe.
He kept a heavy wrench in his tool bag for big nuts.
Similarspanner
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7
verbtransitive
To turn or tighten something using a wrench.
Like turning a tight bolt with a tool instead of your bare hands.
Wrench the bolt clockwise until it's snug.
He wrenched the rusted nut loose after some effort.
Similartighten, turn, twist
8
nouncountable
A strong feeling of pain or sadness caused by leaving someone or something.
Like the heavy, sad feeling when a close friend moves far away.
Leaving her childhood home was a real wrench.
Saying goodbye to his friends felt like a painful wrench.
Similarblow, upheaval, heartbreak
9
nouncountable
A twisting of words that changes what they really mean.
Like changing one word in a sentence so it means something different.
Their summary gave the author's words an unfair wrench.
The headline put a clear wrench on what she had said.
Similardistortion, twist, warping
10
verbtransitive
To twist what something means so it says something different.
Like changing the rules of a game so they help only you.
Don't wrench my words to fit your argument.
The article wrenched her statement out of context.
Similardistort, twist, misrepresent, warp

11
verbtransitive
To take something away with a hard pull or twist.
Like grabbing a stick out of a dog's mouth with one quick pull.
Don't wrench the bag out of her arms.
He wrenched the keys from the thief's grip.
Similarwrest, snatch, seize, grab, tear
12
verbtransitive
To cause someone deep pain or great sadness.
Like the deep ache you feel when you hear very sad news.
Deep loss can wrench even a strong person.
The sad news wrenched her for weeks.
Similardistress, torment, pain, harrow
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13
nouncountable
A way of describing both a push and a twisting effect on a solid object as one combined quantity.
Like writing down a push and a spin together on one note instead of two.
The program adds up every force and twist on the arm into one wrench.
Using a single wrench made the robot's motion much easier to calculate.
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14
nounarchaic
An old machine for lifting or pulling heavy loads using a rope wound around a turning barrel.
Like the handle you turn to pull a bucket up from a deep well.
The sailors turned the wrench to raise the heavy anchor.
A strong pull on the wrench lifted the full bucket from the well.
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15
nounobsolete
A sharp, sudden turn at a narrow angle.
Like the sharp bend a road makes as it rounds the side of a hill.
The path made a sudden wrench to the left around the boulder.
The road took a sharp wrench where it met the cliff.
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16
nounobsolete
A clever trick or scheme used to fool someone.
Like a hidden move in a game that catches your opponent off guard.
He won the game by a sly wrench that no one expected.
Her clever wrench fooled the guards completely.
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17
nounobsolete
Dishonest behavior meant to trick or betray other people.
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18
nounobsolete
A metal fastener with a spiral ridge, turned to hold things together.
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19
nounobsolete
A way or method of getting something done.
But weighing one thing with another he gave Britain for lost; but resolved to make his profit of this business of Britain, as a quarrel for war; and that of Naples, as a wrench and mean for peace
1622, Francis, Lord VerulamHere, wrench means a way or method of getting something done.
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20
nouncountable
In hare coursing, bringing the hare around at less than a right angle, worth half a point.
Like getting half marks instead of full marks for a smaller move.
The judge gave the greyhound a wrench for turning the hare so sharply.
A clean wrench late in the run earned the dog half a point.
21
verbobsoleteintransitive
To twist and turn your body in a violent way.
Like a fish flopping and twisting when it is pulled out of the water.
The wounded man began to wrench in agony on the floor.
She wrenched away in shock when the cold water hit her.
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22
verbobsoletetransitive
To tighten something using a winch, or in a similar way.
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23
verbobsoletetransitive
To push a weapon into something with a twisting move.
Like screwing a corkscrew in: you push and turn at the same time.
The knight wrenched his sword deep into the shield.
He would wrench the spear into the beast with a sharp twist.
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24
verbobsoleteintransitive
In fencing, to disarm by whirling an opponent's blade away with a spinning move.
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Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3–4, 6, 8–9, 13–20

From Old English wrenċ, through Middle English wrench.

Meanings 2, 5, 7, 10–12, 21–24

From Old English wrenċan, through Middle English wrenchen.