wrest

1 of 2

verb

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)

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
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
Just three games into Barca’s eventually successful attempt to wrest back the La Liga title from bitter rival Madrid, however, the teenager rupture his ACL and was ruled out for the rest of the term. Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025 Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur, who must rise to glory Gladiator style after his evil uncle (Jude Law) wrests away control of the kingdom following his dad’s killing. Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 May 2025
Noun
The New York Times reported on May 24 that the foundation originated from a group of Israeli and American military and business leaders as a plan to wrest control of Gaza from Hamas and replace the U.N. as the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 29 May 2025 This time, as covert agent Ethan Hunt of the Impossible Missions Force, Cruise endeavors to wrest control of the Entity, an artificial intelligence system sought by bad guy Gabriel (Esai Morales), then retrieve its source code from ex-CIA agent William Donloe (Rolf Saxon). Armond White, National Review, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrest

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

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wrest was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrest. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.

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

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