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Wrench

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wrench

  [rench]
Use Wrench in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to twist suddenly and forcibly; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist: He wrenched the prisoner's wrist.
2. to overstrain or injure (the ankle, knee, etc.) by a sudden, violent twist: When she fell, she wrenched her ankle.
3. to affect distressingly as if by a wrench.
4. to wrest, as from the right use or meaning: to wrench the facts out of context.
–verb (used without object)
5. to twist, turn, or move suddenly aside: He wrenched away.
6. to give a wrench or twist at something.
–noun
7. a wrenching movement; a sudden, violent twist: With a quick wrench, she freed herself.
8. a painful, straining twist, as of the ankle or wrist.
9. a sharp, distressing strain, as to the feelings.
10. a twisting or distortion, as of meaning.
11. a tool for gripping and turning or twisting the head of a bolt, a nut, a pipe, or the like, commonly consisting of a bar of metal with fixed or adjustable jaws.
Origin:
bef. 1050; ME wrenchen (v.), OE wrencan to twist, turn; c. G renken

Related forms:
wrencher, noun
wrench⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. distort, twist, warp.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wrench   (rěnch)   


(click for larger image in new window)
n.  

  1. A sudden sharp, forcible twist or turn.

  2. An injury produced by twisting or straining.

  3. A sudden tug at one's emotions; a surge of compassion, sorrow, or anguish.

    1. A break or parting that causes emotional distress.

    2. The pain so associated: felt a wrench when he was parted from his children.

  5. A distortion in the original form or meaning of something written or spoken; twisted interpretation.

  6. Any of various hand or power tools, often having fixed or adjustable jaws, used for gripping, turning, or twisting objects such as nuts, bolts, or pipes.

v.   wrenched, wrench·ing, wrench·es

v.   tr.

    1. To twist or turn suddenly and forcibly.

    2. To twist and sprain: I wrenched my knee.

  2. To move, extract, or force free by pulling violently; yank. See Synonyms at jerk1.

  3. To pull at the feelings or emotions of; distress: It wrenched her to watch them go.

  4. To distort or twist the original character or import of: wrenched the text to prove her point.

v.   intr.
To give a wrench, twist, or turn.

[From Middle English wrenchen, to twist, from Old English wrencan; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
wrench'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
wrench

  1. n.
    a mechanic. (Possibly from Mr. Goodwrench.) : I gotta get my ride in and have a wrench look at the serpentine.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

wrench  (v.)
O.E. wrencan "to twist," from P.Gmc. *wrankijanan (cf. O.H.G. renken, Ger. renken "to twist, wrench," O.E. wringan "to wring"), from PIE *wreng- "to turn" (cf. Skt. vrnakti "turns, twists," Lith. rengtis "to grow crooked, to writhe"), nasalized variant of *werg- "to turn" (cf. L. vergere "to turn, tend toward"), from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see versus).

wrench  (n.)
O.E. wrenc "a twisting, artifice, trick;" see wrench (v.). The meaning "tool with jaws for turning" is first recorded 1794.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1wrench
Pronunciation: 'rench
Function: transitive verb
: to injure or disable by a violent twisting or straining wrenched her back>

Main Entry: 2wrench
Function: noun
: a sharp twist or sudden jerk straining muscles or ligaments; also : the resultant injury (as of a joint)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

wrench

see throw a monkey wrench.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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