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Glite Dictionary
to wring out

to wring out

5 3.3
Twist or squeeze a wet cloth to remove most of the water
  • phrasal verb
  • /rɪŋ aʊt/
translation icon : escurrir
  • She wrung out her wet hair after swimming in the pool to remove as much water as possible.
  • wring out water
  • wring out a washcloth
  • wring out a towel

Cotton works great for this example, and all you have to do is simply dampen it and then wring out any additional moisture.

Examples

  • After washing the cloth, you need to wring out the excess water before hanging it up to dry.

  • By the time Thomas finished washing the rags, the water he wrung out of them was running pink.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Take off your shirt and wring it out.

    2-Headed Shark Attack (2012)

  • The woman rose, and reaching behind her head, slowly wrung out her long, dark hair.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Reeves gave me moral support and wrung out the wash, which was too heavy for me.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Cotton works great for this example, and all you have to do is simply dampen it and then wring out any additional moisture.

    MIgardener

  • Heron wrung out her damp hair, spreading it over the dry heat of the fire.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I sit by my father's sickbed, wringing out cloths in cool water.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Hawkeye strips off his buckskin hunting shirt and wrings it out.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Julius wet a facecloth in the ice bucket, wrung it out, and wiped his wife's face with it.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

to wring
vsto wring out
13 4.1

Twist and squeeze cloth or clothes to remove water

is about removing liquid by tight twisting and squeezing specifically
to express
vsto wring out
12 7.6

To force liquid out of something by squeezing it

is a manual twisting action aimed at forcing liquid from cloth
to squeeze out
vsto wring out
4 3.2

To press something to get liquid out

involves tight twisting rather than only pressing or squeezing
to press out
vsto wring out
1 4.1

To get liquid from something by squeezing it

is a hand twisting method rather than a purely mechanical extraction

Antonyms

to soak
156 1.0

Put something into water for a while to soften or clean it

How Dry

to wring out
5 3.3
squeeze
12 1.5
to blot
4 4.1
to drip
171 1.0

Surface Forms

wring out infinitive
wringing out present participle
wrings out third person singular
wrung out past
wrung out past participle

Morphology

wring + out

The meaning 'to remove liquid by twisting or squeezing' is directly derived from 'wring' (to twist/squeeze to remove water) combined with the particle 'out' (indicating removal or movement away). This verb+particle composition is transparently compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the MWE.

Etymology

Wring out comes from the simple action of twisting a wet cloth so the water is squeezed out. You wring the cloth by twisting and squeezing it, so the phrase means 'to remove liquid from something by twisting or squeezing'.