spanner
Americannoun
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a person or thing that spans.
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Also called spanner wrench. a wrench having a curved head with a hook or pin at one end for engaging notches or holes in collars, certain kinds of nuts, etc.
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Chiefly British. a wrench, especially one with fixed jaws.
noun
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a steel hand tool with a handle carrying jaws or a hole of particular shape designed to grip a nut or bolt head
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informal a source of impediment or annoyance (esp in the phrase throw a spanner in the works )
Etymology
Origin of spanner
Explanation
A spanner is a type of adjustable wrench. Outside of North America, spanner is just another word for “wrench.” If Americans want to ruin something, they “throw a wrench into it.” British people “throw a spanner in the works.” If you've ever needed to assemble something — like bookshelves — and needed to tighten or loosen a bolt, you probably needed a spanner. A spanner is a type of wrench with an opening and sometimes little teeth: you can clasp it over the nut or bolt and get a good grip. In the US, the main difference between a spanner and other wrenches is the spanner is adjustable and works with many sizes of nuts and bolts.
Vocabulary lists containing spanner
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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The War I Finally Won
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Stories of Ourselves
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A spanner in the works could be if opposition parties agreed on a rival candidate but talks on this this week appeared to make little headway.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
Divorce, obviously, puts a spanner in the works — and two divorces means two spanners — but you’ve managed to come out of those marriages financially intact.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 9, 2025
But Glasner threw a spanner in the works, saying after the game that the club needed to keep Guehi if they were to have a successful season.
From BBC • Sep. 2, 2025
"If I take my car into the mechanics, I've got to trust that he's not just going to bash it with his spanner and charge me a grand."
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025
And then your first wife’s bastard throws a spanner in the works by handing the one person most likely to put the crown on Oak’s head to your rival.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
