wrested; wresting; wrests
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
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
Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
He’s tried to wrest the power of the purse from Congress, targeted political opponents for speech, had people flown to a foreign prison without trial, ignored court orders and generally taken it upon himself to test the limits of our constitutional order.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2025
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
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Verb
Because tariffs are, effectively, a tax on U.S. businesses that rely on foreign goods to operate, the argument goes, the President cannot wrest this power from Congress.
—Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
He’s tried to wrest the power of the purse from Congress, targeted political opponents for speech, had people flown to a foreign prison without trial, ignored court orders and generally taken it upon himself to test the limits of our constitutional order.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 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
Cite this Entry
“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrest. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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