wrest

[ rest ]

/ rɛst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wrest ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to twist or turn; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.

to take away by force: to wrest a knife from a child.

to get by effort: to wrest a living from the soil.

to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like; wrench.

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.

Nearby words

wren, wren, christopher, wren-tit, wrench, wrens, wrest, wrest pin, wrestle, wrestling, wretch, wretched

Origin of wrest

before 1000; (v.) Middle English wresten, Old English wrǣstan; cognate with Old Norse reista; akin to wrist; (noun) Middle English: a wresting, derivative of the v.

SYNONYMS FOR wrest

1, 3 wring.

3 See extract.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wrest ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

wrest·er, nounun·wrest·ed, adjectiveun·wrest·ing, adjective

Can be confused

rest wrest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wrest

She could never seem to wrest free any back royalties, but she always seemed to owe back taxes.
Before the Earthquake Hit: When The Beatles Landed in America|Michael Tomasky|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The military made an aggressive push to wrest control over drone targeting decisions away from the president.
Obama: I Make the Drone Decisions|Daniel Klaidman|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Robert Shrum on the four tricks the GOP might use to wrest back control.
Obama Realigns, the GOP Declines: The New Political Paradigm|Robert Shrum|February 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Jade asked Strong if she was ever at a loss for ideas and if so, how she might wrest herself from a slump.
Camp Fashion Design Draws Budding Designers To New York|Robin Givhan|July 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The answer is to occupy the Tea Party—and wrest it from the grumpy old men who currently run it.
Blame the Baby Boomers|Niall Ferguson|October 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A request for whiskey addressed to a car containing a dozen men accustomed to wrest metals from the earth was not in vain.
The Penalty|Gouverneur Morris
Sister has been to Wrest, where the old stories are going on:—doctors sent for the middle of the night.
Miss Eden's Letters|Emily Eden
No power in the kingdom could wrest a yard of the highway nor an acre of green sea from the possession of the nation.
Britain for the British|Robert Blatchford
To wrest a living from the avarice of the earth is to form character with the salt and iron of power in it.
The African Colony|John Buchan
If he remained there, his pursuers would soon discover him, and wrest from him the letter with which he had been entrusted.
The Hero of Garside School|J. Harwood Panting

British Dictionary definitions for wrest

wrest

/ (rɛst) /

verb (tr)

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

Derived Forms

wrester, noun

Word Origin for wrest

Old English wrǣstan; related to Old Norse reista. See writhe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012