See Also: wrench(1)(dictionary)
box end wrench(dictionary)
wrench(encyclopedia)
wrench(2)(dictionary)
wrench(medicine)
wrench 1, verb(dictionary)
monkey wrench(dictionary)
Allen wrench(dictionary)
wrench 2, noun(dictionary)
Gut Wrench - Wrestling(gambling)

wrench(1) (iou)



wrench noun. LME.
[from the verb.]
An act of wrenching or pulling aside; a violent twist or turn. Also, the fact of being wrenched. LME.
on wrench rare crosswise.
W. Golding He gave a convulsive wrench of his whole body.
b. A sudden twist or jerk causing pain or injury to a limb or muscle; a sprain, a strain. M16.
c. fig. A painful parting or uprooting; the distress resulting from such an event. M19.
C. Chaplin It was a wrench leaving Keystone, for I had grown fond of..everyone there.
d. Physics. A force together with a couple which is in a plane perpendicular to the force. L19.
a. A sharp or abrupt turning movement. rare. M16-M17.
b. Coursing. An act of turning round a hare or rabbit at less than a right angle. E17.
a. A mechanical screw. M16.
b. A tool, e.g. a spanner, consisting of a metal bar with (freq. adjustable) jaws for gripping and turning a bolt-head, nut, etc. L18.
monkey wrench, spud wrench, Stillson wrench, torque wrench, etc.
c. Medicine. A surgical instrument with adjustable jaws for gripping a part, esp. a deformed foot to be rectified by torsion. Now rare. L19.
A strained or wrested meaning; a forced interpretation. E17.
Comb.: wrench fault Geology = strike-slip fault s.v. STRIKE noun1.