socket wrench
- noun
- /ˈsɑkɪt rɛntʃ/
- To fix the bicycle, you'll need a socket wrench with the right size socket.
- a socket wrench set
- hand me the socket wrench
- get the socket wrench
Examples
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Hand me that socket wrench, would you?
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She used a socket wrench to tighten the bolts on the car.
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You wanna go out to my truck and get the socket wrench?
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I know my dad loves socket wrenches.
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Son, I love a good socket wrench.
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If my mom knew what a socket wrench was, I'm sure she'd love it too.
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Hand me that half-inch socket wrench, would you?
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Hey, Vriess, you got a socket wrench?
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Yeah, get your socket wrench, Vriess.
Fiction book (1997) -
He can deconstruct Dostoevsky in his sleep, but he couldn't work a socket wrench if his life depended on it.
Synonyms
A hand tool with a shaped opening that grips and turns nuts and bolts
A tool that measures and applies the right tightness to bolts and nuts
A small L-shaped tool with a six-sided end used to turn bolts with six-sided holes
A tool with one fixed and one movable jaw that grips and turns bolts
A tool for loosening or tightening the nuts that hold a car wheel
A metal tool with a movable jaw for holding and turning nuts and bolts
A tool with a closed circular end that fits over a nut or bolt to turn it
A tool with a movable jaw that fits different sizes of nuts and bolts
A wrench with a closed ring end that fits over a nut or bolt
A hand tool with a crank handle and a socket head to turn bolts or nuts
A wrench with pins that fit into holes to turn round nuts like locknuts
A tool with a movable jaw that fits nuts and bolts of different sizes
A tool with one movable jaw that you move by turning a screw to hold nuts or bolts
A tool with two flat open jaws that grip nuts or bolts
A tool with a hooked end that turns round nuts with notches
A tool with a hooked end for turning round nuts or bolt heads without flat sides
A tool with an S-shaped handle for turning bolts in tight spaces
A wrench used to tighten or loosen bolts with a rounded top
A tool that turns nuts and bolts to make them tight or loose
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun compound is directly compositional: a 'socket wrench' is a wrench that uses sockets (a fitting) to turn nuts and bolts, so the overall meaning follows predictably from 'socket' + 'wrench'. This follows a productive compounding pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the tool meaning.
Etymology
Socket wrench comes from its parts: the socket is like a hollow 'cup' that fits over a nut, and the wrench is the handle that turns it. Picture sliding a small metal cup onto a bolt and turning the handle, so it means 'a tool used to turn nuts and bolts'.