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wrenchmore about wrench

wrench

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Wrench  \Wrench\  (r[e^]nch),  n.  [OE.  wrench  deceit,  AS  wrenc 
  deceit,  a  twisting;  akin  to  G.  rank  intrigue,  crookedness, 
  renken  to  bend,  twist,  and  E.  wring.  [root]144.  See  {Wring}, 
  and  cf  {Ranch},  v.  t.] 
  1.  Trick;  deceit;  fraud;  stratagem.  [Obs.] 
 
  His  wily  wrenches  thou  ne  mayst  not  flee.  --Chaucer. 
 
  2.  A  violent  twist,  or  a  pull  with  twisting. 
 
  He  wringeth  them  such  a  wrench.  --Skelton. 
 
  The  injurious  effect  upon  biographic  literature  of 
  all  such  wrenches  to  the  truth,  is  diffused 
  everywhere.  --De  Quincey. 
 
  3.  A  sprain;  an  injury  by  twisting,  as  in  a  joint. 
 
  4.  Means  contrivance.  [Obs.]  --Bacon. 
 
  5.  An  instrument,  often  a  simple  bar  or  lever  with  jaws  or  an 
  angular  orifice  either  at  the  end  or  between  the  ends  for 
  exerting  a  twisting  strain,  as  in  turning  bolts,  nuts, 
  screw  taps,  etc.;  a  screw  key.  Many  wrenches  have 
  adjustable  jaws  for  grasping  nuts,  etc.,  of  different 
  sizes. 
 
  6.  (Mech.)  The  system  made  up  of  a  force  and  a  couple  of 
  forces  in  a  plane  perpendicular  to  that  force.  Any  number 
  of  forces  acting  at  any  points  upon  a  rigid  body  may  be 
  compounded  so  as  to  be  equivalent  to  a  wrench. 
 
  {Carriage  wrench},  a  wrench  adapted  for  removing  or 
  tightening  the  nuts  that  confine  the  wheels  on  the  axles, 
  or  for  turning  the  other  nuts  or  bolts  of  a  carriage  or 
  wagon. 
 
  {Monkey  wrench}.  See  under  {Monkey}. 
 
  {Wrench  hammer},  a  wrench  with  the  end  shaped  so  as  to  admit 
  of  being  used  as  a  hammer. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Wrench  \Wrench\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Wrenched};  p.  pr  &  vb  n. 
  {Wrenching}.]  [OE.  wrenchen,  AS  wrencan  to  deceive, 
  properly,  to  twist,  from  wrenc  guile,  deceit,  a  twisting. 
  ????.  See  {Wrench},  n.] 
  1.  To  pull  with  a  twist;  to  wrest,  twist,  or  force  by 
  violence. 
 
  Wrench  his  sword  from  him  --Shak. 
 
  Forthwith  this  frame  of  mine  was  wrenched  With  a 
  woeful  agony.  --Coleridge. 
 
  2.  To  strain;  to  sprain;  hence  to  distort;  to  pervert. 
 
  You  wrenched  your  foot  against  a  stone.  --Swift. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  wrench 
  n  1:  a  sharp  strain  on  muscles  or  ligaments;  "the  wrench  to  his 
  knee  occurred  as  he  fell";  "he  was  sidelined  with  a 
  hamstring  pull"  [syn:  {twist},  {pull}] 
  2:  a  jerky  pulling  movement  [syn:  {twist}] 
  3:  a  hand  tool  that  is  used  to  hold  or  twist  a  nut  or  bolt 
  [syn:  {spanner}] 
  v  1:  twist  or  pull  violently  or  suddenly,  esp.  so  as  to  remove 
  something  from  that  to  which  it  is  attached;  "wrench  a 
  window  off  its  hinges";  "wrench  oneself  free  from 
  somebody's  grip";  also  metaphorically:  "a  deep  sigh  was 
  wrenched  from  his  chest"  [syn:  {twist}] 
  2:  make  a  sudden  twisting  motion 
  3:  twist  and  compress,  as  if  in  pain  or  anguish;  "Wring  one's 
  hand"  [syn:  {wring}] 
  4:  twist  suddenly  so  as  to  sprain;  "wrench  one's  ankle"  [syn:  {twist}, 
  {sprain},  {turn},  {wrick},  {rick}]




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