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wrench - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'wrench' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Wrench [ n.]
- To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence.
- To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.
2 . Wrench [ v. t.]
- Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem.
- A violent twist, or a pull with twisting.
- A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint.
- Means; contrivance.
- 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.
- 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.

Meaning of 'wrench' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . wrench [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments
Example in sentence:
  • he was sidelined with a hamstring pull;
  • the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell
2 . wrench [ v]
Meaning (2):
- 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 in sentence:
  • a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest;
  • wrench a window off its hinges;
  • wrench oneself free from somebody's grip
Meaning (3):
- twist suddenly so as to sprain
Example in sentence:
  • I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days;
  • the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell;
  • The wrestler twisted his shoulder;
  • wrench one's ankle
Meaning (4):
- twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish
Example in sentence:
  • Wring one's hand

Nearby Words:

wreak wreaked wreaken wreaker wreakful wreaking wreakless wreath wreath-shell wreathe

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