Definitions for wrenchrɛntʃ

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Random House Webster's College Dictionary

wrenchrɛntʃ(v.t.)

  1. to twist suddenly and forcibly; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.

  2. to overstrain or injure (the ankle, knee, etc.) by a sudden, violent twist.

  3. to affect distressingly as if by a wrench.

  4. to wrest, as from the right use or meaning; distort.

  5. (v.i.)to give a wrench or twist at something.

  6. to twist, turn, or move suddenly aside.

  7. (n.)a wrenching movement; a sudden, violent twist.

  8. a sharp, distressing strain, as to the feelings.

  9. a twisting or distortion, as of meaning.

  10. a tool for gripping and turning or twisting the head of a bolt, a nut, a pipe, or the like, commonly consisting of a bar of metal with fixed or adjustable jaws.

    Category: Building Trades

Origin of wrench:

bef. 1050; (v.) ME; OE wrencan to twist

wrench′er(n.)

Princeton's WordNet

  1. wrench, twist, pull(noun)

    a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments

    "the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell"; "he was sidelined with a hamstring pull"

  2. twist, wrench(noun)

    a jerky pulling movement

  3. wrench, spanner(verb)

    a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt

  4. wrench, twist(verb)

    twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates

    "wrench a window off its hinges"; "wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest"

  5. wrench(verb)

    make a sudden twisting motion

  6. wring, wrench(verb)

    twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish

    "Wring one's hand"

  7. twist, sprain, wrench, turn, wrick, rick(verb)

    twist suddenly so as to sprain

    "wrench one's ankle"; "The wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

  1. wrench(noun)ˈɛnʧ

    a tool for loosening and tightening bolts, nuts, etc.

Wiktionary

  1. wrench(Noun)

    A movement that twists and pulls violently.

  2. wrench(Noun)

    A distorting change.

  3. wrench(Noun)

    A sudden emotional change.

  4. wrench(Noun)

    A violent pull or twist; a tug

  5. wrench(Noun)

    a hand tool for making rotational adjustments, such as fitting nuts and bolts, or fitting pipes.

  6. wrench(Verb)

    To pull or twist violently.

    With a surge of adrenaline, she wrenched the car door off and pulled out the injured man.

  7. wrench(Verb)

    To injure (a joint) by pulling or twisting.

    Be careful not to wrench your ankle walking along those loose stones!

  8. wrench(Verb)

    To use the tool known as a wrench.

    The plumber wrenched the pipes until they came loose.

  9. Origin: wrencan. Compare German renken.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Wrench(verb)

    trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem

  2. Wrench(verb)

    a violent twist, or a pull with twisting

  3. Wrench(verb)

    a sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint

  4. Wrench(verb)

    means; contrivance

  5. Wrench(verb)

    an instrument, often a simple bar or lever with jaws or an angular orifice either at the end or between the ends, for exerting a twisting strain, as in turning bolts, nuts, screw taps, etc.; a screw key. Many wrenches have adjustable jaws for grasping nuts, etc., of different sizes

  6. Wrench(verb)

    the system made up of a force and a couple of forces in a plane perpendicular to that force. Any number of forces acting at any points upon a rigid body may be compounded so as to be equivalent to a wrench

  7. Wrench(noun)

    to pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence

  8. Wrench(noun)

    to strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert


Translations for wrench

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

wrench(noun)

a violent pull or twist.

Get even more translations for wrench »


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