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wrest

 - 3 dictionary results
Wresting
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wrest

  [rest]
Use wrest in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to twist or turn; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.
2. to take away by force: to wrest a knife from a child.
3. to get by effort: to wrest a living from the soil.
4. to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like; wrench.
–noun
5. a wresting; twist or wrench.
6. a key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.
Origin:
bef. 1000; (v.) ME wresten, OE wrǣstan; c. ON reista; akin to wrist; (n.) ME: a wresting, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
wrester, noun

Synonyms:
1, 3. wring. 3. See extract.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Wresting
The equipment to help you succeed. Find your wrestling equipment now!
www.robbinssports.com
wrest   (rěst)   
tr.v.   wrest·ed, wrest·ing, wrests

  1. To obtain by or as if by pulling with violent twisting movements: wrested the book out of his hands; wrested the islands from the settlers.

  2. To usurp forcefully: wrested power from the monarchy.

  3. To extract by or as if by force, twisting, or persistent effort; wring: wrest the meaning from an obscure poem.

    1. To distort or twist the nature or meaning of: wrested the words out of context.

    2. To divert to an improper use; misapply.

n.  

  1. The act of wresting.

  2. Music A small tuning key for the wrest pins of a stringed instrument.


[Middle English wresten, from Old English wrǣstan, to twist; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
wrest'er n.
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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Word Origin & History

wrest 
O.E. wræstan "to twist, wrench," from P.Gmc. *wraistijanan (cf. O.N. reista "to bend, twist"), derivative of *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Meaning "to pull, detach" (something) is recorded from 1297. Meaning "to take by force" (in ref. to power, authority, etc.) is attested from 1426.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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