wrested; wresting; wrests
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
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
Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025
Biles took it to the Pitt sideline to celebrate, and Wade tried to wrest the ball away.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 6 Sep. 2025
The decision to wrest control of Washington’s police — the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) — was a significantly larger step.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wrest
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Verb
Hamas’s founding goal was to wrest control of the Palestinian national movement from its secular rivals and transform it into an Islamist cause.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025
Biles took it to the Pitt sideline to celebrate, and Wade tried to wrest the ball away.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
Real estate experts told ProPublica that, in its bid to wrest control of the historically independent Fed and go after political enemies, the Trump administration has mischaracterized mortgage rules.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 6 Sep. 2025
The decision to wrest control of Washington’s police — the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) — was a significantly larger step.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wrest
Cite this Entry
“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrest. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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