monkey wrench

noun

Definition of monkey wrench

1 : 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

Examples of monkey wrench in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An appeals court judge has tossed a monkey wrench into the city’s demand that teachers and other adults in public schools be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday, buying time for the city’s Department of Education workers who are resisting a jab. — Michael Elsen-rooney And Cathy Burke, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Sep. 2021 Which, from Phil’s point-of-view, kind of throws a monkey wrench into their manly cowboy paradise. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2021 Learning new ways to cope with her illness and the pressures related to having the world’s heaviest monkey wrench thrown into her ordered life will have a positive impact on her emotional health. — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2021 Not so with meme stocks, the latest monkey wrench thrown into the grooved gears of Wall Street. — George Schultze, Forbes, 15 June 2021 The likely cancellation of Seattle’s postponed game against Tri-City throws a monkey wrench into the exact math, but 2nd is clearly Portland’s to lose. — Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 26 Apr. 2021 The fact that some portion of infected people never develop symptoms but do transmit the virus really threw a monkey wrench into efforts to contain and control the virus. — STAT, 20 Apr. 2021 And, perhaps most notably, fully vaccinated people are also still being discouraged from traveling, something that throws a monkey wrench into my fantasy of an imminent family reunion. — Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, 10 Mar. 2021 Then, in his second year on the job, Culp got thrown a monkey wrench in the form of the coronavirus. — Daniel Bentley, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monkey wrench.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

7 Oct 2021

Cite this Entry

“Monkey wrench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monkey%20wrench. Accessed 21 Oct. 2021.

Style: MLA

MLA