wrenched; wrenching; wrenches
1
: to move with a violent twist
also
: to undergo twisting
2
: to pull or strain at something with violent twisting
1
: to twist violently
2
: to injure or disable by a violent twisting or straining
wrenched her back
4
a
: to pull or tighten by violent twisting or with violence
b
: to snatch forcibly : wrest
5
: to cause to suffer mental anguish : rack entry 2
1
a
: a violent twisting or a pull with or as if with twisting
b
: a sharp twist or sudden jerk straining muscles or ligaments
also
: the resultant injury (as of a joint)
c
: a distorting or perverting alteration
d
: acute emotional distress : sudden violent mental change
2
: a hand or power tool for holding, twisting, or turning an object (such as a bolt or nut)
Synonyms
Examples of wrench in a Sentence
Verb
I tried to wrench free from his grip.
I tried to wrench myself free from his grip.
He wrenched his back when he tried to lift a heavy box.
She wrenched the toy from his grasp.
The statue was wrenched from its pedestal.
Noun
It was a wrench to say goodbye to all my friends.
with a sharp wrench of the hammer I pulled the nail from the board
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Recent Examples on the Web
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Nov. 2023
Do keep an eye out for suckers coming from the rootstock or the trunk and remove them forcibly by wrenching them out to prevent the sucker from taking over and sapping energy from your tree rose.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2023
End of carousel On the Gaza side of the compound, a section of the steel fence had been wrenched free, the entry point for at least some of the Hamas fighters.
—Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2023
Another video verified by The New York Times shows Hamas members driving off on a motorcycle with an Israeli woman squeezed between them, screaming as her boyfriend is marched off on foot, his arm wrenched behind his back.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023
California Pet was wrenched away from woman in North Hollywood.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
Heart breaking, gut wrenching story, people have had enough of this stuff.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023
The songs of In Utero are fractured, spasmodic, wrenched out of shape — notes pulled inside out, meanings stood on their pointy little heads and spun for kicks.
—Howard Hampton, Spin, 21 Sep. 2023
Of course, the fostering works in the other direction, too: Klára answering Aldó’s fatherly ministrations with a style of care and attention that — if not technically spousal — suggests a mature awareness for what has been wrenched from his life.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
Debbie G. Senesky, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
To loosen the nuts, use a wrench and turn in a counterclockwise direction.
—Lauren Farrell, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
The trophy and wrench get their shiny silver coat from aluminum foil.
—Deborah Way, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023
Then clamp the elbow in a vise, and secure the connections with a wrench on the valve's facets.
—Joe Kohl-Riggs, Popular Mechanics, 27 July 2023
Additional Features Outside of the shears, this emergency multitool comes with five other functions: a carbide glass breaker, a ring cutter, a strap cutter, an oxygen tank wrench, and the five centimeter ruler.
—Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 14 Aug. 2023
The vote throws a wrench in lawmakers’ plans to get all 12 appropriations bills through Congress by the end of the month to avert a government shutdown.
—Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2023
Another limitation throws a wrench in the theory about sleep issue being linked to cancer in young people, specifically: most research applies to older adults.
—Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2023
The 23-year-old was found with a .22-caliber gunshot to an eye, stabbed, and bludgeoned with a wrench, Rhodes said.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 27 Aug. 2023
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Verb
Broomfield opens the doc with a striking quote about parents and children from Jones and closes it with a quietly wrenching one from his father, Lewis.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Nov. 2023
Do keep an eye out for suckers coming from the rootstock or the trunk and remove them forcibly by wrenching them out to prevent the sucker from taking over and sapping energy from your tree rose.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2023
End of carousel On the Gaza side of the compound, a section of the steel fence had been wrenched free, the entry point for at least some of the Hamas fighters.
—Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2023
Another video verified by The New York Times shows Hamas members driving off on a motorcycle with an Israeli woman squeezed between them, screaming as her boyfriend is marched off on foot, his arm wrenched behind his back.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2023
California Pet was wrenched away from woman in North Hollywood.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
Heart breaking, gut wrenching story, people have had enough of this stuff.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023
The songs of In Utero are fractured, spasmodic, wrenched out of shape — notes pulled inside out, meanings stood on their pointy little heads and spun for kicks.
—Howard Hampton, Spin, 21 Sep. 2023
Of course, the fostering works in the other direction, too: Klára answering Aldó’s fatherly ministrations with a style of care and attention that — if not technically spousal — suggests a mature awareness for what has been wrenched from his life.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
Noun
When one of the ISS crew members lost a wrench somewhere on the spacecraft in 2014, for instance, engineers uploaded the first 3-D-printer design to space and built the astronaut a replacement wrench right there.
—Debbie G. Senesky, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
To loosen the nuts, use a wrench and turn in a counterclockwise direction.
—Lauren Farrell, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
The trophy and wrench get their shiny silver coat from aluminum foil.
—Deborah Way, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023
Then clamp the elbow in a vise, and secure the connections with a wrench on the valve's facets.
—Joe Kohl-Riggs, Popular Mechanics, 27 July 2023
Additional Features Outside of the shears, this emergency multitool comes with five other functions: a carbide glass breaker, a ring cutter, a strap cutter, an oxygen tank wrench, and the five centimeter ruler.
—Tom Price, Popular Mechanics, 14 Aug. 2023
The vote throws a wrench in lawmakers’ plans to get all 12 appropriations bills through Congress by the end of the month to avert a government shutdown.
—Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2023
Another limitation throws a wrench in the theory about sleep issue being linked to cancer in young people, specifically: most research applies to older adults.
—Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2023
The 23-year-old was found with a .22-caliber gunshot to an eye, stabbed, and bludgeoned with a wrench, Rhodes said.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 27 Aug. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wrench.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Old English wrencan; akin to Old High German renken to twist and perhaps to Latin vergere to bend, incline
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of wrench was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing wrench
Articles Related to wrench
Dictionary Entries Near wrench
Cite this Entry
“Wrench.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrench. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
wrench
2 of 2 noun1
a
: a violent twisting or pull
b
: a sharp twist or sudden jerk that strains muscles or ligaments
also
: the injury caused by this
2
: a tool for holding, twisting, or turning (as nuts and bolts)
Medical Definition
wrench
1 of 2 transitive verb
: to injure or disable by a violent twisting or straining
slipped and wrenched her back
wrench
2 of 2 noun
: a sharp twist or sudden jerk straining muscles or ligaments
also
: the resultant injury (as of a joint)
More from Merriam-Webster on wrench
Nglish: Translation of wrench for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of wrench for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wrench
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