verb

wring

rihng

verb

To twist and squeeze something, especially wet fabric, to force liquid out of it.

"She wrung out the wet towel over the sink."

To twist and clasp the hands together from distress or anxiety.

"He wrung his hands nervously while waiting for the results."

To obtain something with difficulty or by applying pressure, such as forcing out a confession.

"The journalist finally wrung a confession out of the suspect."

How to Use Wring

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo twist something tightly to squeeze liquid out, or to forcefully extract something (like information) with pressure.

Common mistake

"Wring" and "ring" are homophones — don't confuse "wring your hands" with "ring your hands".

Easily confused with

ring → wrong →

Common pairings

wring out a cloth wring one's hands wring a confession

Word Forms

wrung past tense, wrang past tense, wringed past tense, wring plural, wringed plural, wrings plural, wrings plural, wrings singular, wring singular, wringed singular, wringest singular, wringedst singular, wringeth singular

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Etymology

From Old English wringan, "to squeeze, twist" — related to German ringen ("to wrestle, struggle").

Rhymes for wring

ing king wing sing ring ping bing ming zing ding Jing ting

See all rhymes for wring →