wring

[ring] /rɪŋ/
verb (used with object), wrung, wringing.
1.
to twist forcibly:
He wrung the chicken's neck.
2.
to twist and compress, or compress without twisting, in order to force out water or other liquid (often followed by out):
to wring clothes.
3.
to extract or expel by twisting or compression (usually followed by out or from).
4.
to affect painfully by or as if by some contorting or compressing action.
5.
to clasp tightly with or without twisting:
to wring one's hands in pain.
6.
to force (usually followed by off) by twisting.
7.
to extract or get by forceful effort or means (often followed by out).
verb (used without object), wrung, wringing.
8.
to perform the action of wringing something.
9.
to writhe, as in anguish.
noun
10.
a wringing; forcible twist or squeeze.
Origin
before 900; Middle English wringen, Old English wringan; cognate with German ringen to wrestle
Related forms
outwring, verb (used with object), outwrung, outwringing.
Can be confused
ring, wring (see synonym study at ring)
Examples from the web for wring
  • Squeeze the bread to wring out the milk, then drop it into a mixing bowl.
  • If he does, the opposition will seek to wring concessions in exchange, such as a big paring down of his powers.
  • Dunk your mop or sponge in the bucket and wring it out thoroughly.
  • They wring their hands about how much money they are losing to bootlegging and counterfeiting.
  • Environmental groups are considering a major push to wring cash for ecosystem restorations from global warming legislation.
  • They are much more likely to wring their hands about the oil price and leave it at that.
  • Rinse and wring out the cloth two to three times, and continue wiping until you remove all traces of oil.
  • The second is to wring the maximum amount of useful work out of every unit of energy available.
  • But the bean counters in the executive suite remain determined to wring still more revenue from the aging design.
  • But it may have to wring more concessions from its employees and creditors.
British Dictionary definitions for wring

wring

/rɪŋ/
verb wrings, wringing, wrung
1.
(often foll by out) to twist and compress to squeeze (a liquid) from (cloth, etc)
2.
(transitive) to twist forcibly: wring its neck
3.
(transitive) to clasp and twist (one's hands), esp in anguish
4.
(transitive) to distress: wring one's heart
5.
(transitive) to grip (someone's hand) vigorously in greeting
6.
(transitive) to obtain by or as if by forceful means: wring information out of
7.
(intransitive) to writhe with or as if with pain
8.
wringing wet, soaking; drenched
noun
9.
an act or the process of wringing
Word Origin
Old English wringan; related to Old High German ringan (German wringen), Gothic wrungō snare. See wrangle, wrong
Word Origin and History for wring
v.

Old English wringan "press, strain, wring, twist" (class III strong verb; past tense wrang, past participle wrungen), from Proto-Germanic *wrenganan (cf. Old English wringen "to wring, press out," Old Frisian wringa, Middle Dutch wringhen, Dutch wringen "to wring," Old High German ringan "to move to and fro, to twist," German ringen "to wrestle"), from PIE *wrengh- "to turn," nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn," from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus).