wrest

1 of 2

verb

ˈrest 

wrested; wresting; wrests

transitive verb

1

: to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements

2

: to gain with difficulty by or as if by force, violence, or determined labor

wrest

2 of 2

noun

1

: the action of wresting : wrench

2

archaic : a key or wrench used for turning pins in a stringed instrument (such as a piano)

Synonyms of wrest

Verb

• pry
• pull
• extract
• yank
• pluck

Examples of wrest in a Sentence

Verb

He tried to wrest control of the company from his uncle.

the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Alekseyev reportedly attempted to wrest the weapon away and was shot again in the chest before the attacker fled, the report said. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026

Alekseyev tried to wrest away the gun and was shot again in the chest before the attacker fled, the report said. —Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026

Noun

The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed inclined to keep Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook in her job, casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s bid to wrest control of the nation’s central bank. —Mark Sherman, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026

Stocks suffered a sharp sell-off on Tuesday over tariff fears and worries toward the Trump administration’s attempt to wrest control of Greenland. —Darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English wrasten, wresten, from Old English wrǣstan; akin to Old Norse reista to bend and probably to Old English wrigian to turn — more at wry

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wrest

• blessed
• blest
• breast
• chest
• crest
• dressed
• fest
• gest
• geste
• guessed
• jest
• lest

Kids Definition

wrest

verb

ˈrest

1

: to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements

2

: to gain by or as if by force or violence

wrest power from the king