wring

[ ring ]

/ rɪŋ /

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.

Nearby words

wright, orville, wright, richard, wright, russel, wright, willard huntington, wrigley, wring, wring together, wringer, wrinkle, wrinklies, wrinkly

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

Examples from the Web for wringing

Some artists were just happy to have their music out [but] the labels were just wringing their hands.
15 Years After Napster: How the Music Service Changed the Industry|Alex Suskind|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He says the worst of it is in his neck, which on good days feels like someone is grabbing it rather than wringing it.
15 Rounds and Still Talking: Lt. Brian Murphy’s Story of the Oak Creek Massacre|Simran Jeet Singh|August 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Pundits are wringing their hands over the leaks emerging on how the Supreme Court decided Obamacare.
Obamacare Leaks Show Supreme Court’s Slow Move to the 21st Century|Daniel Stone|July 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
With a looming humanitarian disaster in Libya, Western nations are wringing their hands over what to do.
Obama's Libya Gamble|John Barry|March 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The wringing of his hands, the dropping of his ice cream into his lap.
Can a Straight Man Love Sex and the City?|Michael Patrick King|May 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
On wringing out of the second liquor, immediately plunge each piece into cold spring water for rinsing.
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million|Sarah Josepha Hale
Then the boy, wringing my hand again, walked away without another word.
Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man|Marie Conway Oemler
Wringing is made easier if the wringer has wide hems into which sticks such as pieces of broom handles are inserted.
American Red Cross Text-Book on Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick|Jane A. Delano
Here I sprang from my chair and rushed to the window for a breath of air, wringing my hands in speechless distress.
A Confederate Girl's Diary|Sarah Margan Dawson
The supplicant, sobbing and wringing her hands, stood awhile silent.
The Prince of India, Volume II|Lew. Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for wringing

wring

/ (rɪŋ) /

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 wringing

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).

wring

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

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of wring

Examples from the Web for wringing

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} wringing

wring

verb wrings, wringing or wrung

noun

Word Origin for wring

Word Origin and History for wringing

wring

British Dictionary definitions for wringing