Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

4 N‑COUNT A wreck is an accident in which a moving vehicle hits something and is damaged or destroyed. [mainly AM ] □  He was killed in a car wreck. in BRIT, usually use crash 5 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you say that someone is a wreck , you mean that they are very exhausted or unhealthy. [INFORMAL ] □  You look a wreck.

6 → see also nervous wreck

wreck|age /re k I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft the N ] When something such as a plane, car, or building has been destroyed, you can refer to what remains as wreckage or the wreckage . □ [+ of ] Mark was dragged from the burning wreckage of his car.

wreck|er /re kə ^r / (wreckers )

1 N‑COUNT A wrecker is a motor vehicle which is used to pull broken or damaged vehicles to a place where they can be repaired or broken up, for example after an accident. [mainly AM ]

2 N‑COUNT Wreckers are people whose job involves destroying old, unwanted, or damaged buildings. [mainly AM ]

wren /re n/ (wrens ) N‑COUNT A wren is a very small brown bird. There are several kinds of wren.

wrench /re ntʃ/ (wrenches , wrenching , wrenched )

1 VERB If you wrench something that is fixed in a particular position, you pull or twist it violently, in order to move or remove it. □ [V n prep] He felt two men wrench the suitcase from his hand. □ [V adj n] They wrenched open the passenger doors and jumped into her car.

2 VERB If you wrench yourself free from someone who is holding you, you get away from them by suddenly twisting the part of your body that is being held. □ [V pron-refl prep] She wrenched herself from his grasp. □ [V n adj] He wrenched his arm free. □ [V adj] She tore at one man's face as she tried to wrench free.

3 VERB If you wrench one of your joints, you twist it and injure it. □ [V n] He had wrenched his ankle badly from the force of the fall.

4 N‑SING If you say that leaving someone or something is a wrench , you feel very sad about it. [BRIT ] □  I always knew it would be a wrench to leave Essex after all these years. □  Although it would be a wrench, we would all accept the challenge of moving abroad.

5 N‑COUNT A wrench or a monkey wrench is an adjustable metal tool used for tightening or loosening metal nuts of different sizes.

6 PHRASE If someone throws a wrench or throws a monkey wrench into a process, they prevent something happening smoothly by deliberately causing a problem. [AM ] □ [+ into ] They threw a giant monkey wrench into the process by raising all sorts of petty objections. [Also + in ] in BRIT, use throw a spanner in the works

wrest /re st/ (wrests , wresting , wrested )

1 VERB If you wrest something from someone else, you take it from them, especially when this is difficult or illegal. [JOURNALISM , LITERARY ] □ [V n + from ] For the past year he has been trying to wrest control from the central government. □ [V n with back ] The men had returned to wrest back power. [Also V n with away ]

2 VERB If you wrest something from someone who is holding it, you take it from them by pulling or twisting it violently. [LITERARY ] □ [V n + from ] He wrested the suitcase from the chauffeur. □ [V n with away ] He was attacked by a security man who tried to wrest away a gas cartridge.

wres|tle /re s ^ə l/ (wrestles , wrestling , wrestled )

1 VERB When you wrestle with a difficult problem, you try to deal with it. □ [V + with ] Delegates wrestled with the problems of violence and sanctions.

2 VERB If you wrestle with someone, you fight them by forcing them into painful positions or throwing them to the ground, rather than by hitting them. Some people wrestle as a sport. □ [V ] They taught me to wrestle. [Also V n]