wrest

[rest]

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: wring

2. to take away by force.

   to wrest a knife from a child.

3. to get by effort.

   to wrest a living from the soil.

   Synonyms: wring

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

noun

1. a wresting; twist or wrench.

2. 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.

wrest

/ rɛst /

verb

1. to take or force away by violent pulling or twisting

2. to seize forcibly by violent or unlawful means

3. to obtain by laborious effort

4. to distort in meaning, purpose, etc

noun

1. the act or an instance of wresting

2. archaic,  a small key used to tune a piano or harp

Other Word Forms

• wrester noun
• unwrested adjective
• unwresting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrest¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrest¹

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

Synonym Study

See extract.

Example Sentences

The appellate judges said they were guided by a precedent set in the 9th Circuit this summer, when California tried and failed to wrest back control of federalized soldiers in and around Los Angeles.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The move came after the Dutch government wrested control of the company from its Chinese owner.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Dutch government wrested control of a Netherlands-based semiconductor company from its Chinese owner, a new flare-up in tensions between China and the West over key technologies and materials.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The late Abbasid caliphs militarized their economy in an effort to wrest control from the dominant merchants.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Today, Google still dominates and “No existing rival has wrested market share from Google,” he said in his opinion.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exact 
• extort 
• extract 
• seize 
• usurp 
• wrench 
• wring