wrench

Definition

A movement that twists or pulls violently; a tug.

Etymology

From Middle English wrench, from Old English wrenċ, from Proto-Germanic *wrankiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wreng- (“to turn”). Compare German Rank (“plot, intrigue”).

Example Sentences

• "With a wrench, which threw his victim back upon the bed as though hurled from a height, he turned and sprang at us."
• "But weighing one thing with another he gave Britain for lost; but resolved to make his profit of this business of Britain, as a quarrel for war; and that of Naples, as a wrench and mean for peace"