wring

 
Pronunciation: /rɪŋ/

verb (past and past participle wrung /rʌŋ/)

[with object]
  • 1squeeze and twist (something) to force liquid from it: she wrung the cloth out in the sink
  • [with object and adverbial] extract (liquid) by squeezing and twisting something: I wrung out the excess water
  • squeeze (someone’s hand) tightly, especially with sincere emotion: he fervently wrung Rose’s hand
  • [with object and adverbial] obtain (something) with difficulty or effort: few concessions were wrung from the government
  • 2break (an animal’s neck) by twisting it forcibly: the chicken shrieked as one of the women wrung its neck humorous I’ll wring her neck when I lay hands on her
  • 3cause pain or distress to: the letter must have wrung her heart

noun

[in singular]
  • an act of squeezing or twisting something.

Phrases

wring one's hands

clasp and twist one’s hands together as a gesture of great distress, especially when one is powerless to change the situation: she was wringing her hands in agitation there was little they could do about it except wring their hands

Origin:

Old English wringan (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch wringen, also to wrong

Do not confuse wring with ring. Wring means 'twist or squeeze something' ( I wanted to wring his neck), whereas the verb ring mainly means 'surround someone or something' ( the courthouse was ringed with police) or 'make a clear sound' ( a bell started to ring).