Word.ws English Dictionary

monkey wrenches

monkey wrenches is the plural 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

Questions about monkey wrenches

What is monkey wrenches the plural of?
Monkey wrenches is the plural of monkey wrench.

Words near monkey wrenches in the dictionary

  1. monkey wheels
  2. monkey wrench
  3. monkey wrench in the works
  4. monkey wrencher
  5. monkey wrenchers
  6. monkey wrenches
  7. monkey wrenches in the works
  8. monkey wrenching
  9. monkey's allowance
  10. monkey's bread
  11. monkey's breads

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: monkey wrenches (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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