How to Use spanner in a Sentence

spanner

noun

• The charges against Luft are just the latest spanner in the works.
  — Tori Otten, The New Republic, 11 July 2023
• Last year, the public beta was late, which could have thrown a spanner in the works.
  — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
• The sync is off for the voices on the film, yet another spanner in the works.
  — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024
• However, there is a factor that throws a spanner in the works.
  — David Balaban, Forbes, 11 June 2021
• Yet present-day consumer usage appears set to throw a spanner in the works.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2025
• Iran has also proffered ideas of its own that throw a spanner in the diplomatic works.
  — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2021
• However, the system itself may have thrown a spanner in the works.
  — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, 2 Apr. 2020
• And then, in episode three, a Peter Claffey–size spanner is thrown in the works.
  — Derek Lawrence, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2026
• However, protests, which began around the same time, threw a spanner in Adani’s gear.
  — Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 28 Nov. 2022
• Everybody got the lockdown, and that really put a spanner in the works.
  — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 6 Feb. 2023
• So long as nothing throws a spanner in the works, looks like we’re all set for a happy holiday season.
  — Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 12 Dec. 2025
• Yet the existence of these errors is the fatal spanner in the works of Mitchell's whole case.
  — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 7 July 2014
• The government had hoped things would be faster still, only for delays at Pfizer to put a spanner in the works.
  — The Economist, 30 Dec. 2020
• To most of the general public, short films are just the spanner that’ll always mess up your Oscars pool.
  — Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2024
• This threw a spanner in the works as far as the theory of human locomotion was concerned.
  — Bill Hatcher, National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2016
• Marko Arnautovic’s early goal already seemed to throw a spanner in the works with both teams needing a draw to progress.
  — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 7 July 2026
• And even if she were ousted, the party membership could throw another spanner in the works during a vote.
  — Karla Adam, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2022
• The spanner in the works turns out to be Joy (Colman), drunk and woozy on the back seat of the cab, with a weeks-old infant in tow.
  — Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 July 2022
• However, coronavirus threw a spanner in the works for physical stores.
  — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, 14 Sep. 2020
• The design has been around for more than 30 years and the rifle comes with a small spanner wrench to assist with takedown and assembly.
  — Richard Mann, Field & Stream, 25 Mar. 2020
• On Wednesday evening in Doha, Al-Sadd threw a spanner in the works with a blunt statement.
  — Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2021
• Until the Covid-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works, Giles had been growing from strength to strength.
  — Austa Somvichian-Clausen, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2023
• His loss plus a lack of investment in the playing squad and a few overlapping injuries could throw an industrial-sized spanner in the works.
  — SI.com, 6 Nov. 2019
• Now, the recent spate of deaths could well put another spanner in TikTok’s India works.
  — Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, 21 Aug. 2019
• The story seemed pretty straightforward, but Henrik Mouritsen threw a spanner in the works.
  — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 28 Aug. 2012
• However, Juventus could wait until the summer and sign Eriksen for free, which may put a spanner in the works.
  — SI.com, 5 Sep. 2019
• Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works but loyal fans, most of them fully vaccinated, have been itching to get back into theatres.
  — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2022
• The Brits seem to be chafing at their status as an Oscar precursor, though, and they may be tempted to chuck a spanner in the works just for fun.
  — Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2021
• Wilkinson is highly thought of at the club and was considered ready to join the first-team staff, but Guardiola’s departure put a spanner in the works.
  — Sam Lee, New York Times, 1 July 2026
• But a spanner is thrown into the works when the special guest before him, Kirsten Dunst, tells a story that involves the same highlights.
  — Amel Mukhtar, Vogue, 2 Aug. 2022