wring.
Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out.
Meaning & usage
Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out.
I didn’t have a towel so I just wrung my hair dry.
Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out. To squeeze water (from an item of wet clothing) by passing through a wringer.
Often followed by from or out: to extract (a liquid) from something wet by squeezing, twisting, or otherwise putting pressure on it.
Put the berries into a cheesecloth and wring the juice into a bowl.
To hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist; to wrest.
to wring someone’s hand
to wring the neck of a chicken
To hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist; to wrest. To clasp and twist (hands) together due to distress, sorrow, etc.
to wring one’s hands with worry
To bend or strain (something) out of its position; to wrench, to wrest.
to wring a mast
To contort or screw up (the face or its features).
To twist or wind (something) into coils; to coil.
Of a thing (such as footwear): to pinch or press (a person or part of their body), causing pain.
To cause (someone or something) physical harm, injury, or pain; specifically, by applying pressure or by twisting; to harm, to hurt, to injure.
To cause (tears) to come out from a person or their eyes.
To cause distress or pain to (a person or their heart, soul, etc.); to distress, to torment.
To obtain (something) from or out of a person or thing by extortion or other force.
The police said they would wring the truth out of that criminal.
To use effort to draw (a response, words, etc.) from or out of someone; to generate (something) as a response.
To afflict or oppress (someone) to enforce compliance; to extort.
To cause (someone) to do something or to think a certain way.
To change (something) into another thing.
To give (teachings, words, etc.) an incorrect meaning; to twist, to wrest.
To put (oneself) in a position by cunning or subtle means; to insinuate.
To slide (two ultraflat surfaces) together such that their faces bond.
To be engaged in clasping and twisting (especially the hands), or exerting pressure.
To twist the body in or as if in pain; to writhe.
To contend, to struggle; also, to strive, to toil.
To experience distress, pain, punishment, etc.
Of a lode: to be depleted of ore; to peter or peter out.
To make a way out with difficulty.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English wring, wringe, wringen, wryng, wrynge, wryngen, wryngyn, from Old English wringan (“to wring”), from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wrenǵʰ- (“to squeeze, wring”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wring (“to wring”), Saterland Frisian wringe (“to wring”), Dutch wringen (“to wring; to wrest; to writhe”), German ringen (“to wrestle; to struggle; to wring”), wringen (“to wring”), Luxembourgish réngen (“to grapple, wrestle”); also Ancient Greek ῥίμφα (rhímpha, “fast, nimbly, rapidly”), Lithuanian rangýti (“to roll up; to curl, twist, wave”).
A powerful squeezing or twisting action.
I grasped his hand and gave it a grateful wring.
Followed by down: the product of wringing, such as cider or wine.
A sharp physical pain, especially in the abdomen; also, mental pain or distress.
Where this word comes from
Partly: * from Middle English wring, wringe (“twisting or wringing (of the neck)”), from Middle English wringen, wryngen (verb); and * from the modern English verb. See further at etymology 1.
A device for compressing or pressing, especially for making cheese, cider from apples, or wine from grapes.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English wring, wringe, wrynge (“a press, especially for olives or wine”) [and other forms], from Old English wringe, from wringan (verb): see further at etymology 1.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.