wring
3 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of WRING
[+ object]
1
:
to twist and squeeze (wet cloth, hair, etc.) to remove water
— often + out
— sometimes used figuratively
-
I wrung the towel and hung it up to dry.
-
I wrung my hair and wrapped it in a towel.
-
The rag was wrung dry. [=squeezed until almost all of the liquid was gone]
-
wring a sponge out
-
I wrung out my wet bathing suit.
-
She has been wrung dry by bills. [=she has no money left because she used all of it to pay bills]
2
:
to get (something) out of someone or something with a lot of effort
— + out of or from
-
They tried to wring [=squeeze] every last dollar of profit out of the failing company.
-
I finally managed to wring an apology from her.
3
:
to twist and break (an animal's neck) in order to kill the animal
-
wring a chicken's neck
wringing wet
:
very wet
-
His clothes were wringing wet from the rain.
wring someone's neck
informal
— used to say that you are very angry with someone
-
He makes me so mad! I could wring his neck!
wring your hands
:
to twist and rub your hands together because you are nervous or upset
—
see also hand-wringing
-
She was wringing her hands and pacing back and forth while waiting for her son to call.
