- (especially North American English) (British English usually spanner)[countable] a metal tool with a special shape at the end for holding and turning things, including one that can be changed to fit objects of different sizes, also called a monkey wrench or an adjustable spanner
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- [singular] pain or unhappiness that you feel when you have to leave a person or place that you love
- Leaving home was a terrible wrench for me.
- [countable, usually singular] a sudden and violent twist or pull
- She stumbled and gave her ankle a painful wrench.
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Word Originlate Old English wrencan ‘twist’, of unknown origin.
Idioms
See wrench in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary(throw) a (monkey) wrench in/into something (North American English)
(British English (throw) a spanner in the works)
- (to cause) a delay or problem with something that somebody is planning or doing
Check pronunciation:
wrench