spanner

[ span-er ]
See synonyms for spanner on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that spans.

  2. Also called spanner wrench . a wrench having a curved head with a hook or pin at one end for engaging notches or holes in collars, certain kinds of nuts, etc.: Compare pin wrench.

  1. Chiefly British. a wrench, especially one with fixed jaws.

Origin of spanner

1
First recorded in 1630–40; span1 + -er1

Words Nearby spanner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spanner in a sentence

  • He was working at it with a spanner when O'Donoghue, breathless and in a bad temper, came up with him.

    The Simpkins Plot | George A. Birmingham
  • Always have a spanner sticking out of a pocket, and a hunk of bread and cheese tied up in a coloured handkerchief in our hands.

    Two Daring Young Patriots | W. P. Shervill

British Dictionary definitions for spanner

spanner

/ (ˈspænə) /


noun
  1. a steel hand tool with a handle carrying jaws or a hole of particular shape designed to grip a nut or bolt head

  2. British informal a source of impediment or annoyance (esp in the phrase throw a spanner in the works)

Origin of spanner

1
C17: from German, from spannen to stretch, span 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012