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

Jim and Johnny attempted to wrest control of the franchise from Jeanie and remove her as the Lakers’ controlling owner. — Law Murray, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

The administration’s latest attempt to wrest local control from California officials has homed in on stripping authority granted to the state by the Coastal Zone Management Act, or CZMA. — Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Noun

The clinical trial became a boon for Abbott, which publicized the results to wrest market share from Mead Johnson. — David Hilzenrath, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026

All 435 seats in the House and 33 seats in the Senate are up for grabs in November, and Democrats are gunning to wrest back control of Congress from the GOP in both chambers. — Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 3 Mar. 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