wring
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
5 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "wring", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "wring" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "wring" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
wring is aEnglishverb. It means: Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out. Pronounced /ɹɪŋ/. Often confused with writ and wrong.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wring |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #39,654 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wring is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #39,654 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 26 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for wring, with forms such as "rwing", "wirng", and "wrign". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "writ", "wrong", "write", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wringen, wryngen from Old English wringan (“to wring”), from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wrenǵʰ-. Cognates * Ancient Greek ῥίμφα (rhímpha, “fast”) * Dutch wringen * Lithuanian… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is wring, spelled W-R-I-N-G, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out.
- 2Often followed by out: to squeeze or twist (something moist) tightly so that liquid is forced out.
- 3Often followed by from or out: to extract (a liquid) from something wet by squeezing, twisting, or otherwise putting pressure on it.
- 4To hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist; to wrest.
- 5To hold (someone or something) tightly and press or twist; to wrest.
- 6To bend or strain (something) out of its position; to wrench, to wrest.
- 7To contort or screw up (the face or its features).
- 8To twist or wind (something) into coils; to coil.
- 9Of a thing (such as footwear): to pinch or press (a person or part of their body), causing pain.
- 10To cause (someone or something) physical harm, injury, or pain; specifically, by applying pressure or by twisting; to harm, to hurt, to injure.
- 11To cause (tears) to come out from a person or their eyes.
- 12To cause distress or pain to (a person or their heart, soul, etc.); to distress, to torment.
- 13To obtain (something) from or out of a person or thing by extortion or other force.
- 14To use effort to draw (a response, words, etc.) from or out of someone; to generate (something) as a response.
- 15To afflict or oppress (someone) to enforce compliance; to extort.
- 16To cause (someone) to do something or to think a certain way.
- 17To change (something) into another thing.
- 18To give (teachings, words, etc.) an incorrect meaning; to twist, to wrest.
- 19To put (oneself) in a position by cunning or subtle means; to insinuate.
- 20To slide (two ultraflat surfaces) together such that their faces bond.
- 21To be engaged in clasping and twisting (especially the hands), or exerting pressure.
- 22To twist the body in or as if in pain; to writhe.
- 23To contend, to struggle; also, to strive, to toil.
- 24To experience distress, pain, punishment, etc.
- 25Of a lode: to be depleted of ore; to peter or peter out.
- 26To make a way out with difficulty.
Etymology
From Middle English wringen, wryngen from Old English wringan (“to wring”), from Proto-Germanic *wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wrenǵʰ-. Cognates * Ancient Greek ῥίμφα (rhímpha, “fast”) * Dutch wringen * Lithuanian reñgtis (“to bend down”) * Middle Low German wringen (Low German wringen) * Old Frisian *wringa (West Frisian wringe) * Old High German rinkan, ringan, ringan (Middle High German ringen, modern German wringen, German ringen (“to wrestle”))
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rwing,wirng,wrign,wringg,wrinng,wrnig,wrring,wwring
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for wring
Misspelling Variants of "wring"
Frequency rank: #39,654 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "wring"?
What does "wring" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "wring"?
How do you pronounce "wring"?
What is the origin of the word "wring"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter W in our English index: