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

Beneath its breezy surface, the movie is grappling with these knotted questions of gender, choice, ambition and identity — just like Gabrielle, hurtling through her day, is constantly negotiating competing urges, figuring out how to wrest meaning from her existence. —Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026

Trump has also reportedly made attempts to wrest control over the Smithsonian Institution. —News Desk, Artforum, 11 May 2026

Noun

Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, which would give them greater power to oppose Trump. —David A. Lieb, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

At play here is the effort by the Democrats to wrest control of the 435-member U.S House from the Republicans in November and impeach President Donald Trump. —Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 27 Apr. 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