Definition of wrest

• v. t. - 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.
• v. t. - To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort.
• v. t. - To tune with a wrest, or key.
• n. - The act of wresting; a wrench; a violent twist; hence, distortion; perversion.
• n. - Active or moving power.
• n. - A key to tune a stringed instrument of music.
• n. - A partition in a water wheel, by which the form of the buckets is determined.