'Wrench' definitions:

Definition of 'wrench'

(from WordNet)
noun
A sharp strain on muscles or ligaments; "the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell"; "he was sidelined with a hamstring pull" [syn: wrench, twist, pull]
noun
A jerky pulling movement [syn: twist, wrench]
noun
A hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt [syn: wrench, spanner]
verb
Twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates; "wrench a window off its hinges"; "wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest" [syn: wrench, twist]
verb
Make a sudden twisting motion
verb
Twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's hand" [syn: wring, wrench]
verb
Twist suddenly so as to sprain; "wrench one's ankle"; "The wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days" [syn: twist, sprain, wrench, turn, wrick, rick]

Definition of 'Wrench'

From: GCIDE
  • Wrench \Wrench\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wrenched; p. pr. & vb. n. Wrenching.] [OE. wrenchen, AS. wrencan to deceive, properly, to twist, from wrenc guile, deceit, a twisting. ????. See Wrench, n.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence. [1913 Webster]
  • Wrench his sword from him. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched With a woeful agony. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert. [1913 Webster]
  • You wrenched your foot against a stone. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Wrench'

From: GCIDE
  • Wrench \Wrench\ (r[e^]nch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. [root]144. See Wring, and cf. Ranch, v. t.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A violent twist, or a pull with twisting. [1913 Webster]
  • He wringeth them such a wrench. --Skelton. [1913 Webster]
  • The injurious effect upon biographic literature of all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused everywhere. --De Quincey. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Means; contrivance. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. An instrument, often a simple bar or lever with jaws or an angular orifice either at the end or between the ends, for exerting a twisting strain, as in turning bolts, nuts, screw taps, etc.; a screw key. Many wrenches have adjustable jaws for grasping nuts, etc., of different sizes. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Mech.) The system made up of a force and a couple of forces in a plane perpendicular to that force. Any number of forces acting at any points upon a rigid body may be compounded so as to be equivalent to a wrench. [1913 Webster]
  • Carriage wrench, a wrench adapted for removing or tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles, or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or wagon.
  • Monkey wrench. See under Monkey.
  • Wrench hammer, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit of being used as a hammer. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'wrench'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Wrench'