spanner
6
4.4
- noun
- /ˈspænər/
- UK
:
llave inglesa
- Could you please pass me the spanner so I can tighten this bolt?
You anyone can open that box of spanners and make make use of what's in there to do whatever it is they want to do.
- You anyone can open that box of spanners and make make use of what's in there to do whatever it is they want to do.
Examples
-
"Have you got a spanner?" said Winston, fiddling with the nut on the angle-joint.
Fiction book (1998) -
Mrs. Parsons brought the spanner.
Fiction book (1998) -
We need his special spanner to open it.
-
Well, that does throw a spanner in the works slightly, but we can work around that.
-
But the current economic climate has thrown a spanner in the works.
Academic text (2011) -
Brian Stone has just thrown a huge spanner in the works.
Blog text (23) -
Would you hand me the coil spanner?
-
I'd have to get a spanner and a socket, I think, to take this out.
-
Well, I can let you have an adjustable spanner if that's what you mean.
-
Hand me the spanner.
Synonyms
60
2.5
A hand tool with a shaped opening that grips and turns nuts and bolts
1
3.8
A metal tool with a movable jaw for holding and turning nuts and bolts
A tool with a movable jaw that fits nuts and bolts of different sizes
A tool with a hooked end for turning round nuts or bolt heads without flat sides
A tool with a hooked end that turns round nuts with notches
A tool that turns nuts and bolts to make them tight or loose
A hand tool with a crank handle and a socket head to turn bolts or nuts
Idioms
Compounds
How Adjustable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word spanner comes from the old German verb spannen, which means 'to stretch' or 'to tighten'. So a spanner is a tool you use to 'tighten' or turn nuts and bolts.