Monkey wrench

Monkey wrench
Wrench Wrench (r[e^]nch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. [root]144. See {Wring}, and cf. {Ranch}, v. t.] [1913 Webster] 1. Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. A violent twist, or a pull with twisting. [1913 Webster]

He wringeth them such a wrench. --Skelton. [1913 Webster]

The injurious effect upon biographic literature of all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused everywhere. --De Quincey. [1913 Webster]

3. A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint. [1913 Webster]

4. Means; contrivance. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

5. An instrument, often a simple bar or lever with jaws or an angular orifice either at the end or between the ends, for exerting a twisting strain, as in turning bolts, nuts, screw taps, etc.; a screw key. Many wrenches have adjustable jaws for grasping nuts, etc., of different sizes. [1913 Webster]

6. (Mech.) The system made up of a force and a couple of forces in a plane perpendicular to that force. Any number of forces acting at any points upon a rigid body may be compounded so as to be equivalent to a wrench. [1913 Webster]

{Carriage wrench}, a wrench adapted for removing or tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles, or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or wagon.

{Monkey wrench}. See under {Monkey}.

{Wrench hammer}, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit of being used as a hammer. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Monkey Wrench — Single par Foo Fighters extrait de l’album The Colour and the Shape Sortie 28 avril 1997 Enregistrement 1997 Grandmaster Recorders, Hollywood, Californie Durée 3:51 Genre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Monkey Wrench — «Monkey Wrench» Sencillo de Foo Fighters del álbum The Colour and the Shape Formato CD Grabación Estudios Grand Master de Hollywood Género(s) rock alternativo …   Wikipedia Español

  • monkey wrench — n. a wrench with one movable jaw, adjusted by a screw to fit various sizes of a nut, etc.: see WRENCH ☆ throw a monkey wrench into Informal to disrupt the orderly functioning or realization of …   English World dictionary

  • monkey wrench — monkey ,wrench noun count a WRENCH that can be used to turn NUTS of different sizes throw a monkey wrench into something INFORMAL to spoil something by preventing it from happening the way it was planned …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • monkey wrench — n especially AmE 1.) a tool that is used to hold or turn things of different widths British Equivalent: adjustable spanner 2.) throw a monkey wrench in the works AmE informal to do something that will cause problems or spoil someone s plans… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • monkey wrench — ► NOUN ▪ a spanner with large adjustable jaws …   English terms dictionary

  • Monkey wrench — For other uses of this term, see monkey wrench (disambiguation). The monkey wrench (also known as an adjustable spanner in the UK) is an adjustable wrench, a later American development of eighteenth century English coach wrenches. It was popular… …   Wikipedia

  • monkey wrench — noun adjustable wrench that has one fixed and one adjustable jaw • Syn: ↑monkey wrench • Hypernyms: ↑adjustable wrench, ↑adjustable spanner * * * noun, pl ⋯ wrenches [count] : a wrench that can be adjusted to grip or turn things of different… …   Useful english dictionary

  • monkey wrench — A tool which is similar to a pipe wrench. While a pipe wrench has teeth and a loosly mounted head that allows it to bite into the pipe and tighten as a strain is put on the handle, a monkey wrench has adjustable, smooth jaws that always remain… …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • monkey wrench — monkeywrench monkeywrench, monkey wrench monkey wrench . A wrench or spanner which has one fixed and one adjustable jaw. Syn: monkey wrench. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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