Search Result for "wrench": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (3)

1. a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments;
- Example: "the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell"
- Example: "he was sidelined with a hamstring pull"
[syn: wrench, twist, pull]

2. a jerky pulling movement;
[syn: twist, wrench]

3. a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt;
[syn: wrench, spanner]


VERB (4)

1. twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates;
- Example: "wrench a window off its hinges"
- Example: "wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"
- Example: "a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest"
[syn: wrench, twist]

2. make a sudden twisting motion;

3. twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish;
- Example: "Wring one's hand"
[syn: wring, wrench]

4. twist suddenly so as to sprain;
- Example: "wrench one's ankle"
- Example: "The wrestler twisted his shoulder"
- Example: "the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell"
- Example: "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days"
[syn: twist, sprain, wrench, turn, wrick, rick]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

wrench n 1: 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] 2: a jerky pulling movement [syn: twist, wrench] 3: a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt [syn: wrench, spanner] v 1: 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] 2: make a sudden twisting motion 3: twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's hand" [syn: wring, wrench] 4: 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]