wrest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
wrests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrested,
past participle, past
-
wresting
present participle
noun
-
a wresting; twist or wrench.
-
a key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.
verb
-
to take or force away by violent pulling or twisting
-
to seize forcibly by violent or unlawful means
-
to obtain by laborious effort
-
to distort in meaning, purpose, etc
noun
-
the act or an instance of wresting
-
archaic a small key used to tune a piano or harp
Synonym Usage
See extract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wrestsimple
-
wrestssimple
-
have wrestedperfect
-
has wrestedperfect
-
am wrestingprogressive
-
are wrestingprogressive
-
is wrestingprogressive
-
have been wrestingperfect progressive
-
has been wrestingperfect progressive
Past
-
wrestedsimple
-
had wrestedperfect
-
was wrestingprogressive
-
were wrestingprogressive
-
had been wrestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrest
First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English wresten, Old English wrǣstan “to turn, twist,” from unattested Old Norse wreista ( Icelandic reista ); akin to wrist; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb and first recorded in 1350-1400
Explanation
To wrest is to forcefully grab or take something away. You can wrest away many things, such as remote controls and championships. This word is strong and a little violent. It's not easy to wrest something away. Wresting away is a little like "wrestling" something away — you can't get it without a fight. Objects can be wrested away, but so can non-physical things. In a tough election, you could say the new president wrests away the title of commander-in-chief from the incumbent candidate.
Vocabulary lists containing wrest
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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.
See Examples For:
The LinkedIn update fills a hole that scammers have used to wrest job seekers’ data and sometimes their cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
But a quick flurry of wickets for Notts helped them wrest back control and take the game to a thrilling final over in which Surrey needed 12 to win.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Baldoni has denied the allegations, arguing that Lively sought to wrest creative control of the film and damage his reputation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026
But if it can wrest more power from Live Nation, that’s a worthy win in the short term.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
“So, sir,” said Master Ellemire, perhaps trying to wrest authority from Thyon.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
From here, much of the novel dwells on Günter’s terror and paralysis as the Nazi Party wrests control of Germany.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Rozario’s mother holds onto him protectively, then wrests the scissors away.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024
Back at the studio the anchors vacuously nod at Nandor's escalating trumpery, as they do when The Guide wrests Joanna's microphone away to parley on behalf of all vampires.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2023
Indeed, Fish wrests us from any post-intermission relaxation with a reworked dream ballet sequence that begins in heavy-metal mode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2022
With a sudden movement Franz springs upon Papa, wrests the paper from his grasp, and passes it over Mamma’s shoulder to Leslie.
From Dangerous Ground or, The Rival Detectives by Lawrence L. Lynch
Cobolli immediately wrested back control in the fourth, racing into a 4-0 lead, but Svajda - who had never previously gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam - refused to give up.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
On his ninth try, in 1977, Begin wrested power from the Labor party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
It is packaged and commodified, wrested from its continuity with the world and from its intimate relation to the body.
From Slate ● Mar. 15, 2025
First, long before that, the Spanish and Mexicans wrested it away from the Native Americans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
Torak wrested one hand free and dragged his arm away.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
I wrote at the time that the trade peace was fragile: “Trump is at liberty to threaten higher tariffs again for any reason,” such as wresting Greenland from Denmark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
The opening exchanges were not to script but Northampton's internationals were crucial in wresting back momentum.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2025
If it has no chance of wresting control, why would private equity still want in?
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2024
Kuleba said that restarting the aid deliveries would bring Kyiv closer to wresting back control over Ukrainian skies from Russia’s vastly larger and more modern air force.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2024
One would hold back the overgrowth, and the rest would reach in for tomatoes, wresting the fruit from the stems.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
