wring
Americanverb (used with object)
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to twist forcibly.
He wrung the chicken's neck.
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to twist and compress, or compress without twisting, in order to force out water or other liquid (often followed byout ).
to wring clothes.
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to extract or expel by twisting or compression (usually followed by out orfrom ).
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to affect painfully by or as if by some contorting or compressing action.
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to clasp tightly with or without twisting.
to wring one's hands in pain.
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to force (usually followed byoff ) by twisting.
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to extract or get by forceful effort or means (often followed byout ).
verb (used without object)
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to perform the action of wringing something.
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to writhe, as in anguish.
noun
verb
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(often foll by out) to twist and compress to squeeze (a liquid) from (cloth, etc)
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(tr) to twist forcibly
wring its neck
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(tr) to clasp and twist (one's hands), esp in anguish
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(tr) to distress
wring one's heart
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(tr) to grip (someone's hand) vigorously in greeting
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(tr) to obtain by or as if by forceful means
wring information out of
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(intr) to writhe with or as if with pain
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soaking; drenched
noun
Other Word Forms
- outwring verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of wring
before 900; Middle English wringen, Old English wringan; cognate with German ringen to wrestle
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.
If Warshow wrung a sizable reputation out of a small body of work, he also stuffed his very short life with experience.
The speculative leverage has been wrung out of this market for months.
From MarketWatch
This was a president rejecting lame-duck status, demonstrating he intends to wring the life out of every day remaining to him in the Oval Office.
Netflix describes this as relaxing, which it very well may be to parents wrung out by their children loudly campaigning to watch.
From Salon
This latest creation is a dud, a banal sitcom figure surrounded by wacky characters who can’t wring any laughs out of Mr. Brooks’s musty script.
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.
