- to take or force away by violent pulling or twisting
- to seize forcibly by violent or unlawful means
- to obtain by laborious effort
- to distort in meaning, purpose, etc
- the act or an instance of wresting
- archaic a small key used to tune a piano or harp
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
wrest /rɛst/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to take away by force:I wrested the gun away from him.
- to get by effort:to wrest control of the business away from the stockholders.
n. [countable]
- a twist or wrench.
wrest
(rest),USA pronunciation v.t.
n.
wrest′er, n.
- to twist or turn;
pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist. - to take away by force:to wrest a knife from a child.
- to get by effort:to wrest a living from the soil.
- to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like;
wrench.
n.
- a wresting;
twist or wrench. - Music and Dancea key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.
- bef. 1000; (verb, verbal) Middle English wresten, Old English wrǣstan; cognate with Old Norse reista; akin to wrist; (noun, nominal) Middle English: a wresting, derivative of the verb, verbal
- 1. 3. wring. 3. See extract.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
wrest /rɛst/ vb (transitive)
'wrest' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):