n. 1. The act of wresting; a wrench; a violent twist; hence, distortion; perversion. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Active or moving power. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A key to tune a stringed instrument of music. [ 1913 Webster ]

The minstrel . . . wore round his neck a silver chain, by which hung the wrest, or key, with which he tuned his harp. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A partition in a water wheel, by which the form of the buckets is determined. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wrest pin (Piano Manuf.), one of the pins around which the ends of the wires are wound in a piano. Knight. --
Wrest plank (Piano Manuf.), the part in which the wrest pins are inserted. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wrested; p. pr. & vb. n. Wresting. ] [ OE. wresten, AS. wr&unr_;stan; akin to wr&unr_;&unr_; a twisted band, and wrī&unr_;n to twist. See Writhe. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To turn; to twist; esp., to twist or extort by violence; to pull of force away by, or as if by, violent wringing or twisting. “The secret wrested from me.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our country's cause,
That drew our swords, now secret wrests them from our hand. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

They instantly wrested the government out of the hands of Hastings. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wrest once the law to your authority. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor. Ex. xxiii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their arts of wresting, corrupting, and false interpreting the holy text. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To tune with a wrest, or key. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who wrests. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To wrestle with; to seek to throw down as in wrestling. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A struggle between two persons to see which will throw the other down; a bout at wrestling; a wrestling match; a struggle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whom in a wrestle the giant catching aloft, with a terrible hug broke three of his ribs. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Wrestled p. pr. & vb. n. Wrestling ] [ OE. wrestlen, wrastlen, AS. wr&unr_;stlian, freq. of wr&unr_;stan to wrest; akin to OD. wrastelen to wrestle. See Wrest, v. t. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To contend, by grappling with, and striving to trip or throw down, an opponent; as, they wrestled skillfully. [ 1913 Webster ]

To-morrow, sir, I wrestle for my credit, and he that escapes me without some broken limb shall acquit him well. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Another, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternum. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, to struggle; to strive earnestly; to contend. [ 1913 Webster ]

Come, wrestle with thy affections. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Eph. vi. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

Difficulties with which he had himself wrestled. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. wr&aemacr_;stlere. ] One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act of one who wrestles; specif., the sport consisting of the hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants who seek to throw each other. The various styles of wrestling differ in their definition of a fall and in the governing rules. In
Greco-Roman wrestling, tripping and taking hold of the legs are forbidden, and a fall is gained (that is, the bout is won), by the contestant who pins both his opponent's shoulders to the ground. In
catch-as-catch-can wrestling, all holds are permitted except such as may be barred by mutual consent, and a fall is defined as in Greco-Roman style.
Lancashire style wrestling is essentially the same as catch-as-catch-can. In
Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling the contestants stand chest to chest, grasping each other around the body. The one first losing his hold, or touching the ground with any part of his body except his feet, loses the bout. If both fall to the ground at the same time, it is a dogfall, and must be wrestled over. In the
Cornwall and Devon wrestling, the wrestlers complete in strong loose linen jackets, catching hold of the jacket, or anywhere above the waist. Two shoulders and one hip, or two hips and one shoulder, must touch the ground to constitute a fall, and if a man is thrown otherwise than on his back the contestants get upon their feet and the bout recommences. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]