wrench

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: twistpullspannerwringsprainturnwrickrick

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments“the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell”“he was sidelined with a hamstring pull”Synonyms: twistpull
  2. a jerky pulling movementSynonyms: twist
  3. a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or boltSynonyms: 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“wrench a window off its hinges”“wrench oneself free from somebody's grip”“a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest”Synonyms: twist
  2. make a sudden twisting motion
  3. twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish“Wring one's hand”Synonyms: wring
  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”Synonyms: twistsprainturnwrickrick
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Webster's Dictionary (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]

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]
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