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.
In a lab on the western edge of Paris, where the River Seine flows wide and trams slide past glass-fronted buildings and blossoming cherry trees, a technician called Rémi makes some adjustments with a spanner.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Paris had already thrown a spanner in the works by calling this week for a delay to the vote, demanding robust safeguard clauses, tighter import controls and more stringent standards for Mercosur producers.
From Barron's • Dec. 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
Unable to get a job as an accountant since graduating five years ago, Ghanaian Nathaniel Qainoo has been forced to swap his calculator for a spanner.
From BBC • Dec. 5, 2024
A young Beta- Minus mechanic was busy with screwdriver and spanner on the blood-surrogate pump of a passing bottle.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
