n. & v.
--n.
1. a violent twist or oblique pull or act of tearing off.
2 an adjustable tool like a spanner for gripping and turning nuts etc.
3 an instance of painful uprooting or parting (leaving home was a great wrench).
4 Physics a combination of a couple with the force along its axis.
--v.tr.
1. twist or pull violently round or sideways.
2 (often foll. by off, away, etc.) pull off with a wrench.
3 distort (facts) to suit a theory etc.
Etymology: (earlier as verb:) OE wrencan twist