wring

Wring is a verb meaning to twist and squeeze something, typically to remove liquid. It can be done by hand or with a tool, and examples include wringing out a towel, wringing a cloth, or wringing water from laundry. The action often involves applying force to extract moisture and may deform delicate materials if done too aggressively.

The word is pronounced /rɪŋ/. Etymology traces to Old English wringan, meaning “to twist, torment,” and is cognate with Dutch wringen and German wringen; it derives from Proto-Germanic roots.

In practice, wringing is common in laundry and cleaning, and historically in wringer washing machines; modern washing machines usually rely on spinning rather than manual wringing. The verb also appears in idiomatic expressions such as wringing one’s hands, which conveys anxiety or worry, and wringing someone’s neck, a violent expression that is typically figurative.

Beyond physical motion, wring can be used metaphorically to indicate extracting value, effort, or moisture from a situation. For example, one might wring every last drop of moisture from a sponge or wring as much performance as possible from a limited resource. The term thus covers both a concrete physical act and various figurative uses in everyday language.