1. forcibly pull (something) from a person's grasp: "Leila tried to wrest her arm from his hold"
▪ take (something, especially power or control) from someone or something else after considerable effort or difficulty: "they wanted to allow people to wrest control of their lives from impersonal bureaucracies"
▪ distort the meaning or interpretation of (something) to suit one's own interests or views:"you appear convinced of my guilt, and wrest every reply I have made"
noun
1. a key for tuning a harp or piano.archaic
Word OriginOld Englishwrǣstan ‘twist, tighten’, of Germanic origin; related to Danish vriste, also to wrist.