Word.ws English Dictionary

throwing a wrench in

throwing a wrench in is the present participle and gerund of throw a wrench in.

Meaning of throw a wrench in

Verb

throw a wrench in (third-person singular simple present throws a wrench in, present participle throwing a wrench in, simple past threw a wrench in, past participle thrown a wrench in)

  1. (US, idiomatic) To introduce a problem, dilemma or obstacle in; to complicate.
    • The pandemic is also weighing on preparations, with election administrations hyperaware that Covid cases could throw a wrench in their plans at the last minute.2020 December 28, Zach Montellaro, “Georgia election admins battle Covid and conspiracies ahead of Senate runoffs”, in Politico

Questions about throwing a wrench in

What is throwing a wrench in the present participle and gerund of?
Throwing a wrench in is the present participle and gerund of throw a wrench in.

Words near throwing a wrench in in the dictionary

  1. throwing a spanner into the works
  2. throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel
  3. throwing a tantrum
  4. throwing a wet blanket on
  5. throwing a wobbly
  6. throwing a wrench in
  7. throwing a wrench in the gears
  8. throwing a wrench in the works
  9. throwing a wrench into the works
  10. throwing about
  11. throwing an ant into a sty

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throwing a wrench in (page history and authors); throw a wrench in (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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Cite this entry: “throwing a wrench in.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/throwing_a_wrench_in. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.