wrest

American

[rest] / rɛst /

verb (used with object)

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

Synonyms:

wring
to take away by force.

to wrest a knife from a child.
to get by effort.

to wrest a living from the soil.

Synonyms:

wring
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.

wrest British

/ rɛst /

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

"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

noun

the act or an instance of wresting
archaic a small key used to tune a piano or harp

"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

Related Words

See extract.

Other Word Forms

unwrested adjective
unwresting adjective
wrester noun

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

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.

But if it can wrest more power from Live Nation, that’s a worthy win in the short term.

From Slate • Mar. 10, 2026

European officials had been hoping to make progress on Ukraine at the Swiss ski resort -- a goal drowned out by US President Donald Trump's push to wrest control of Greenland from EU member Denmark.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 29, 2025

For both Merrick and Washington these were tactics used to wrest some small measure of control over their lives from a dominating white world.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023