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wringer

[ ring-er ]
/ ˈrɪŋ ər /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wringer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that wrings.
an apparatus or machine for squeezing liquid out of anything wet, as two rollers through which an article of wet clothing may be squeezed.
a painful, difficult, or tiring experience; ordeal (usually preceded by through the): His child's illness really put him through the wringer.

RELATED WORDS

query, investigation, inquiry, questioning, inquisition, inquest, poll, catechism, interrogation, examination, interrogatory, inquiring

Nearby words

  1. wright, russel,
  2. wright, willard huntington,
  3. wrigley,
  4. wring,
  5. wring together,
  6. wrinkle,
  7. wrinklies,
  8. wrinkly,
  9. wrist,
  10. wrist joint

Origin of wringer

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wring, -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wringer

British Dictionary definitions for wringer

wringer

/ (ˈrɪŋə) /

noun

another name for mangle 2 (def. 1)
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 wringer

wringer

n.

"device for squeezing water from clothes," 1799, agent noun from wring. Figurative phrase to put (something) through the wringer first recorded 1942, American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wringer

wringer

see under put through (the wringer).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.