wring

[ring]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wring ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), wrung, wring·ing.

to twist forcibly: He wrung the chicken's neck.

to twist and compress, or compress without twisting, in order to force out water or other liquid (often followed by out): to wring clothes.

to extract or expel by twisting or compression (usually followed by out or from).

to affect painfully by or as if by some contorting or compressing action.

to clasp tightly with or without twisting: to wring one's hands in pain.

to force (usually followed by off) by twisting.

to extract or get by forceful effort or means (often followed by out).

verb (used without object), wrung, wring·ing.

to perform the action of wringing something.

to writhe, as in anguish.

noun

a wringing; forcible twist or squeeze.

Origin of wring

before 900; Middle English wringen, Old English wringan; cognate with German ringen to wrestle

Related formsout·wring, verb (used with object), out·wrung, out·wring·ing.

Can be confusedring wring

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

Related Words for wring

extort, wrest, wrench, squeeze, extract, screw, gouge, force, strain, pinch, throttle, compress, choke, hurt, exact, turn, coerce, push, pain, strangle

Examples from the Web for wring

Contemporary Examples of wring

Some things never change as we wring out the old year and ring in the new one.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style
Candida Moss
December 31, 2014
To wring all that can be wrung from metaphor, note what our elected and appointed officials are not dressed as.
Election Day Is Scarier Than Halloween
P. J. O’Rourke
November 1, 2014
This makes what Obama and John Kerry manage to wring out of the Russians in the next two days absolutely crucial.
Did Obama Just Change His Luck on Syria?
Michael Tomasky
September 11, 2013
It could find other ways to wring costs of its operations, like using less packaging or electricity.
Sad Face at Walmart
Daniel Gross
May 16, 2013
Now Brooks spoke of a death so horrific as to wring tears from a man who has seen gun death after gun death after gun death.
Jonylah Watkins, Gunned Down in Chicago, Was a ‘Happy Baby’
Michael Daly
March 13, 2013

Historical Examples of wring

Possibly should he retain her he could wring a handsome ransom from the white man.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
No bribe—and he was shameless in his offers—could wring more than that from her.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
She thought of the meeting at the Festa, and longed to wring from Gaspare his secret.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
If you don't pay him every red copper, down on the nail, he'll wring you dry.
Cy Whittaker's Place
Joseph C. Lincoln
Were he taken they'd wring out of him whatever happened to be in him.
The Lion's Skin
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for wring

wring

verb wrings, wringing or wrung

(often foll by out) to twist and compress to squeeze (a liquid) from (cloth, etc)

(tr) to twist forciblywring its neck

(tr) to clasp and twist (one's hands), esp in anguish

(tr) to distresswring one's heart

(tr) to grip (someone's hand) vigorously in greeting

(tr) to obtain by or as if by forceful meanswring information out of

(intr) to writhe with or as if with pain

wringing wet soaking; drenched

noun

an act or the process of wringing

Word Origin for wring

Old English wringan; related to Old High German ringan (German wringen), Gothic wrungō snare. See wrangle, wrong

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

Word Origin and History for wring

Old English wringan "press, strain, wring, twist" (class III strong verb; past tense wrang, past participle wrungen), from Proto-Germanic *wrenganan (cf. Old English wringen "to wring, press out," Old Frisian wringa, Middle Dutch wringhen, Dutch wringen "to wring," Old High German ringan "to move to and fro, to twist," German ringen "to wrestle"), from PIE *wrengh- "to turn," nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus).