wrest

1 of 2

verb

wrested; wresting; wrests

transitive verb

1
: to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements
2
: to gain with difficulty by or as if by force, violence, or determined labor

wrest

2 of 2

noun

1
: the action of wresting : wrench
2
archaic : a key or wrench used for turning pins in a stringed instrument (such as a piano)

Examples of wrest in a Sentence

Verb He tried to wrest control of the company from his uncle. the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Two years on and the Sudanese army has managed to wrest back control of the capital Khartoum. Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025 Trump on Wednesday talked about wresting manufacturing jobs back to the United States, a process that could take years. Arkansas Online, 3 Apr. 2025
Noun
Today, a new kind of offensive is on Panamanian minds, as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatens to wrest control of the Panama Canal back into American hands. Whitney Eulich, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2025 And, according to Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, the excessive pressure a wrist wrest puts on the delicate tendons under the wrists can cause carpal tunnel syndrome and tenosynovitis (inflammation of the sheath surrounding tendons). Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrest

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English wrasten, wresten, from Old English wrǣstan; akin to Old Norse reista to bend and probably to Old English wrigian to turn — more at wry

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wrest was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrest. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

wrest

verb
ˈrest
1
: to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements
2
: to gain by or as if by force or violence
wrest power from the king

More from Merriam-Webster on wrest

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