Word.ws English Dictionary

monkey-wrench

monkey-wrench is the alternative form of monkey wrench.

Meaning of monkey wrench

Noun

monkey wrench (plural monkey wrenches)

  1. A wrench (spanner) with an adjustable jaw.
    • Did you ever stop to think whether or not you knew how a monkey wrench should be used?1903, Shop Talk, volumes 1-3, page 21
  2. (figuratively) An unexpected or troublesome problem, obstacle or dilemma.
    • Professor Miller's careful research has thrown a monkey-wrench into the Einstein wheel, although it has far from discouraged the enthusiastic exponents of Einsteinism.1926, New Outlook, volume 142, page 58

See all 4 meanings of monkey wrench

Forms of monkey-wrench

pluralmonkey-wrenches

Questions about monkey-wrench

What is monkey-wrench the alternative form of?
Monkey-wrench is the alternative form of monkey wrench.

Words near monkey-wrench in the dictionary

  1. monkey-shine
  2. monkey-shines
  3. monkey-speak
  4. monkey-strap
  5. monkey-straps
  6. monkey-wrench
  7. monkey-wrencher
  8. monkey-wrenchers
  9. monkey-wrenches
  10. monkey-wrenching
  11. monkeyboard

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: monkey-wrench (page history and authors); monkey wrench (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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