wrench

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: {wrench}, {twist}, {pull}]
    2: a jerky pulling movement [syn: {twist}, {wrench}]
    3: a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt [syn:
       {wrench}, {spanner}]
    v 1: twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to
         remove (something) from that to which it is attached or
         from where it originates; "wrench a window off its hinges";
         "wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a deep sigh
         was wrenched from his chest" [syn: {wrench}, {twist}]
    2: make a sudden twisting motion
    3: twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's
       hand" [syn: {wring}, {wrench}]
    4: twist suddenly so as to sprain; "wrench one's ankle"; "The
       wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their
       ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk
       for several days" [syn: {twist}, {sprain}, {wrench}, {turn},
       {wrick}, {rick}]
    

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.]
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   1. Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.]
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            His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. --Chaucer.
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   2. A violent twist, or a pull with twisting.
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            He wringeth them such a wrench.       --Skelton.
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            The injurious effect upon biographic literature of
            all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused
            everywhere.                           --De Quincey.
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   3. A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint.
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   4. Means; contrivance. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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   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.
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   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.
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   {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.
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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.]
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   1. To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by
      violence.
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            Wrench his sword from him.            --Shak.
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            Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
            With a woeful agony.                  --Coleridge.
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   2. To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.
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            You wrenched your foot against a stone. --Swift.
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264 Moby Thesaurus words for "wrench":
      Allen wrench, Stillson wrench, abrade, abrasion, ache, aching,
      acute pain, adjustable wrench, alligator wrench, anamorphism,
      anamorphosis, asymmetry, badger, bark, belie, bend, bite,
      blackmail, blemish, bloody, blow, bob, boring pain, box wrench,
      break, buckle, burlesque, burn, camouflage, caricature,
      carriage wrench, chafe, chain wrench, charley horse, check, chip,
      claim, claw, coerce, color, compel, concussion, confuse, constrain,
      contort, contortion, crack, crackle, cramp, cramps, craze, crick,
      crook, crookedness, crumple, cut, darting pain, demand, detorsion,
      deviation, disguise, disproportion, distort, distortion, distress,
      dolor, drag, exact, exaction, exaggerate, extort, extortion,
      falsify, flash burn, flick, flip, flirt, flounce, force,
      force from, fracture, fray, frazzle, fret, fulgurant pain, gall,
      garble, gash, get one wrong, get wrong, girdle pain, gloss, gnarl,
      gnawing, gouge, grief, griping, hitch, hurt, imbalance, incise,
      incision, injure, injury, irregularity, jerk, jig, jigger, jigget,
      jiggle, jog, joggle, jumping pain, kink, knot, lacerate,
      laceration, lancinating pain, lesion, levy blackmail, lopsidedness,
      lug wrench, maim, make mincemeat of, maul, misapply, misapprehend,
      miscite, miscolor, misconceive, misconstrue, misdeem, misexplain,
      misexplicate, misexpound, misinterpret, misjudge, misquote,
      misread, misrender, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, mistake,
      misteach, mistranslate, misunderstand, monkey wrench, mortal wound,
      mutilate, mutilation, nasty blow, nip, overdraw, overstate, pain,
      pang, parody, paroxysm, passion, pervert, pierce, pinch,
      pipe wrench, pluck, prick, pry loose from, puncture, quirk, rend,
      rend from, rending, rent, rick, rip, rip from, ripping, run,
      rupture, savage, scald, scorch, scotch, scrape, scratch, screw,
      screw key, scuff, second-degree burn, seizure, shake down,
      sharp pain, shock, shoot, shooting, shooting pain, skin, slant,
      slash, slit, snake, snatch, snatch from, socket wrench, sore,
      sore spot, spanner, spark-plug wrench, spasm, sprain, spring,
      squeeze, stab, stab wound, stabbing pain, start, stick, stitch,
      strain, strain the sense, stress, stress of life, stroke,
      sudden pull, suffering, tap wrench, tappet wrench, tear, tear from,
      tearing, tender spot, third-degree burn, thrill, throes, tormen,
      torsion, tortuosity, torture, trauma, traumatize, travesty, turn,
      turn awry, tweak, twinge, twist, twist the words, twitch,
      understate, unsymmetry, warp, wound, wounds immedicable,
      wrench from, wrenching, wrest, wresting, wring, wring from,
      wringing, writhe, wry, yank, yerk