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# wrench

noun (a wrench, wrenches); verb (wrench, wrenches, wrenched, wrenching)

«wrench» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (tool) A metal tool for gripping and turning nuts and bolts; in the UK it is usually called a spanner. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#m1)
2. (verb) To pull or twist something suddenly and hard: wrench the door open. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#m2)
3. To injure a joint by twisting it: wrench your ankle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#m3)
4. A sad feeling when you have to leave someone or something: leaving home was a wrench. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#m4)

### In the lessons

A tool, action and feelings word. In design and technology lessons you use a wrench or spanner. In stories: a door is wrenched open, a toy wrenched from someone's hands. In The Wind in the Willows it is a wrench for Mole and Rat to leave the river, and for Toad to give up his motor cars. Safety: if you wrench your ankle, rest, ice and raise it, and tell an adult.

### Examples

- Pass me the wrench so I can tighten the bolt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x1)
- He wrenched the lid off the jar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x2)
- She wrenched her ankle playing netball. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x3)
- Leaving the old house was a real wrench. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x4)
- The wind wrenched the umbrella from my hand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x5)
- Dad used a wrench to fix the bike. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x6)
- Directly the box was in my hands I wrenched off the cover. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/#x7)

### Note

Regular verb. In the UK «spanner» is the usual word for the tool; «wrench» is American (in the UK a wrench is an adjustable or pipe wrench). Similar verbs: twist, yank.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «wrench» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wrench/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«wrench» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wrench.html) on Mova free.