wrench

wrench

1. an injury to a limb, caused by twisting

2. a spanner, esp one with adjustable jaws

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wrench

[rench]

(engineering)

A manual or power tool with adapted or adjustable jaws or sockets either at the end or between the ends of a lever for holding or turning a bolt, pipe, or other object.

(mechanics)

The combination of a couple and a force which is parallel to the torque exerted by the couple.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

wrench

A hand tool consisting of a metal handle with a jaw at one end which is designed to fit the head of a bolt or nut (or to grasp a pipe or rod) so that it may be turned.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Wrench

 

a hand tool that is widely used in fitting and assembling operations to screw and unscrew bolts, nuts, and other threaded connections. A wrench has a jaw or contoured projections and recesses that grip the objects. The principal varieties are simple wrenches with single and double ends, lever types, socket wrenches, and adjustable (monkey) wrenches.

Torque wrenches (both self-releasing and indicator types), which are used when assembling vital screw connections on instruments, motors, lathes, and so on, are the most advanced and satisfactory types of wrench. Indicating wrenches have a torque indicator that gives a light or sound signal when the desired torque value is reached. Self-releasing wrenches automatically disengage when the specified torque is reached, thus avoiding stripping the threads. Nut wrenches are extensively used in automated assembly.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.