wrench

American  

[rench] / rɛntʃ /

verb (used with object)

• wrenches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wrenched,
  past participle,  past
• wrenching
  present participle

1. to twist suddenly and forcibly; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.

   He wrenched the prisoner's wrist.

2. to overstrain or injure (the ankle, knee, etc.) by a sudden, violent twist.

   When she fell, she wrenched her ankle.

3. to affect distressingly as if by a wrench.

4. to wrest, as from the right use or meaning.

   to wrench the facts out of context.

   Synonyms:

   warp, twist, distort

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verb (used without object)

• wrenches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wrenched,
  past participle,  past
• wrenching
  present participle

1. to twist, turn, or move suddenly aside.

   He wrenched away.

2. to give a wrench or twist at something.

noun

• wrenches
  plural

1. a wrenching movement; a sudden, violent twist.

   With a quick wrench, she freed herself.

2. a painful, straining twist, as of the ankle or wrist.

3. a sharp, distressing strain, as to the feelings.

4. a twisting or distortion, as of meaning.

5. a tool for gripping and turning or twisting the head of a bolt, a nut, a pipe, or the like, commonly consisting of a bar of metal with fixed or adjustable jaws.

wrench British  

/ rɛntʃ /

verb

1. to give (something) a sudden or violent twist or pull esp so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached

   to wrench a door off its hinges

2. (tr) to twist suddenly so as to sprain (a limb)

   to wrench one's ankle

3. (tr) to give pain to

4. (tr) to twist from the original meaning or purpose

5. (intr) to make a sudden twisting motion

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noun

1. a forceful twist or pull

2. an injury to a limb, caused by twisting

3. sudden pain caused esp by parting

4. a parting that is difficult or painful to make

5. a distorting of the original meaning or purpose

6. a spanner, esp one with adjustable jaws See also torque wrench

wrench Idioms  

1. see throw a monkey wrench.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wrencher
  noun
• outwrench
  verb (used with object)
• unwrenched
  adjective
• wrenchingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wrenches
  plural

Participles

• wrenching
  present
• wrenched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wrench
  simple
• wrenches
  simple
• have wrenched
  perfect
• has wrenched
  perfect
• am wrenching
  progressive
• are wrenching
  progressive
• is wrenching
  progressive
• have been wrenching
  perfect progressive
• has been wrenching
  perfect progressive

Past

• wrenched
  simple
• had wrenched
  perfect
• was wrenching
  progressive
• were wrenching
  progressive
• had been wrenching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wrench
  simple
• will have wrenched
  perfect
• will be wrenching
  progressive
• will have been wrenching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of wrench

before 1050; Middle English wrenchen (v.), Old English wrencan to twist, turn; cognate with German renken

Explanation

To wrench means to grab or pull something with a lot of physical force. See this teddy bear? If you want it, you’ll have to wrench it out of my hands, because I’m not willing to give it up. Maybe you have a wrench at home, that is, a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or a pipe joint. If so, you also have a great way to remember what wrench the verb means. Just imagine you're twisting with a wrench, except instead of using a tool, you’re using your hands. If something is heart wrenching, it makes you feel very sad. If you wrench a part of your body, you strain, pull or twist it, injuring yourself in some way.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wrench wrenches wrenched wrenching

By precisely measuring that motion and the associated gravitational torque, the researchers could calculate one value for G. Torque is simply a twisting force, similar to the force used when turning a wrench.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

But when Pína and Hawk arrive, their presence throws a wrench in a union that’s already on the fritz.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

That worked until the Iran war threw a wrench in gold’s momentum, with rising oil prices raising worries about inflation and expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

He said it was a "wrench" to have to leave the job he loved, although promised he was not "leaving the service of Greater Manchester".

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

He wrapped it six inches above the cut, using a stick to wrench it tight.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

The unnatural act of throwing a baseball still tears tendons and wrenches elbows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

At every turn, it shows its people trusting each other, taking care of each other, and dealing with the unexpected wrenches and scripts that would break most devices.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

The space is a horseshoe-shaped echo of Wool’s work — raw, agitated — and the restless elegance he wrenches from a feeling of decay.

From New York Times ● May 2, 2024

Spokespeople for the Insurance Information Institute and the Personal Insurance Federation of California regularly opine to reporters that Rosenfield, Balber and the group’s president, Jamie Court, are wrenches in the underwriting machinery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024

Hali wrenches her arm away and runs, not looking back.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Railroad lines and roads and bridges were wrenched away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

With Sinner out and Carlos Alcaraz skipping the clay-court major with injury, Djokovic will be left wondering if his best opportunity of winning that elusive 25th Grand Slam has been wrenched from his grasp.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

While the S&P 500 has wrenched up and down but gone pretty much nowhere this year, international, emerging-market, small stocks and value stocks have taken off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

Now we know with painful clarity what it is to be wrenched from our homes.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2025

Their great hinges and iron bars were wrenched and bent; many of their timbers were cracked.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Speaking that same year, Miliband told BBC Political Thinking he was still recovering from what he labelled a "gut wrenching" defeat that was "in many ways" a personal rejection of him.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

That could be wrenching for a lot of retirees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

A president with 70%-plus approval ratings now faces some wrenching decisions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

Pescatore said D’Amaro has a major advantage in that the company Iger leaves behind is well positioned for the wrenching changes facing the current media landscape.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 3, 2026

It’s somehow both sweet and wrenching, and the singer sings it like she means it.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

Related Words

• bend
• dislocate
• distort
• rip
• sprain
• tweak
• wrest
• wring
• yank