wring

/rɪŋ/

/rɪŋ/

Other forms: wrung; wringing; wrings; wringed

To wring something is to twist or squeeze it, usually out of its original shape. If you annoy someone enough, they might threaten to wring your neck.

If you do laundry by hand, then you most likely wring out your shirts to get rid of excess water before hanging them out to dry. You can also wring out someone's hair after washing it. As you can tell, the word often has to do with getting liquids out of something. You might wring tears out of a person's eyes if you tell him the sad story of the day you lost your puppy.

Definitions of wring

1. noun

   a twisting squeeze
   “gave the wet cloth a wring”

   synonyms: squeeze

   type of:

   motion, movement

   a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
2. verb

   twist and press out of shape
   synonyms: contort, deform, distort

   wrench

   twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish

   types:

   morph

   change shape as via computer animation

   type of:

   distort, twine, twist

   form into a spiral shape
3. verb

   twist, squeeze, or compress in order to extract liquid
   “wring the towels”

   synonyms:

   contort, deform, distort

   twist and press out of shape

   type of:

   crush, mash, squash, squeeze, squelch

   compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
4. verb

   twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish
   “Wring one's hand”

   synonyms: wrench

   contort, deform, distort

   twist and press out of shape

   type of:

   distort, twine, twist

   form into a spiral shape
5. verb

   obtain by coercion or intimidation
   synonyms: extort, gouge, rack, squeeze

   types:

   bleed

   get or extort (money or other possessions) from someone

   type of:

   fleece, gazump, hook, overcharge, pluck, plume, rob, soak, surcharge

   rip off; ask an unreasonable price