: a wrench with one fixed and one adjustable jaw at right angles to a straight handle
2
: something that disrupts
threw a monkey wrench into the peace negotiations
Illustration of monkey wrench
monkey wrench 1
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And that’s not the only monkey wrench in the works.—Bob Woods, CNBC, 29 Mar. 2026 Yes, that leads to obvious trouble in the Washington Territory as monkey wrenches aplenty get thrown into the paths of these two resilient women.—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2025 What can throw a monkey wrench into this is a very short escrow period, say 15 days.—Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 16 Oct. 2025 If Starship doesn’t work as promised, that would be a giant monkey wrench, said Caleb Henry, an analyst with Quilty Space.—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for monkey wrench