Wrench
Wrench (rench) , noun
[Old English wrench deceit, Anglo-Saxon wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to German rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and English wring. r144. See Wring, and compare Ranch, transitive verb]
1.
Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obsolete]
His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee.
2.
A violent twist, or a pull with twisting.
He wringeth them such a wrench.
The injurious effect upon biographic literature of all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused everywhere.
3.
A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint.
4.
Means; contrivance. [Obsolete] — 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.
(Mechanics) 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.
Collocations (3)
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.
Wrench , transitive verb
[Old English wrenchen, Anglo-Saxon wrencan to deceive, properly, to twist, from wrenc guile, deceit, a twisting. {not transcribed}. See Wrench, n.]
1.
To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence.
Wrench his sword from him.
Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woeful agony.
2.
To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.
You wrenched your foot against a stone.