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
Arkansas Online, 2 July 2025
To rescue InGen from bankruptcy, Hammond’s nephew — Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), who wrested control of the company away from his uncle after the park debacle — wants to exploit the dinosaurs.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 27 June 2025
Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 3 July 2025
The decision to withhold education funding is one of a number of efforts to wrest spending power from Congress, and recent reporting suggests the administration is considering ways to step up its attack and challenge restrictions on impoundment more broadly.
—Cameron Peters, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for wrest
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the linchpin of a new aid system that wrested distribution away from aid groups led by the U.N.
—Arkansas Online, 2 July 2025
To rescue InGen from bankruptcy, Hammond’s nephew — Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), who wrested control of the company away from his uncle after the park debacle — wants to exploit the dinosaurs.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 27 June 2025
Noun
Agency leaders under Kennedy have made other unprecedented moves in recent months to wrest control over the nation's vaccines process.
—Nicole Brown Chau, CBS News, 3 July 2025
The decision to withhold education funding is one of a number of efforts to wrest spending power from Congress, and recent reporting suggests the administration is considering ways to step up its attack and challenge restrictions on impoundment more broadly.
—Cameron Peters, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for wrest
Cite this Entry
“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrest. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share