wring
v.v. to twist something tightly with your hands to squeeze out liquid. You might do this to a wet towel or a cloth after cleaning.
v. to squeeze or twist something forcefully to extract moisture or liquid. Often used metaphorically to describe the act of obtaining something through great effort or pressure.
Wring the wet cloth before you wipe the table.
After the heavy rain, he had to wring out his socks before he could continue the hike.
The lawyers attempted to wring a confession from the witness, but her testimony remained remarkably consistent despite their aggressive questioning.
From Middle English wringen, wryngen from Old English wringan (“to wring”), from Proto-Germanic wringaną (“to squeeze, twist, wring”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European wrenǵʰ-. Cognates * Ancient Greek ῥίμφα (rhímpha, “fast”) * Dutch wringen * Lithuanian reñgtis (“to bend down”) * Middle Low German wringen (Low German wringen) Old Frisian wringa (West Frisian wringe) * Old High German rinkan, ringan, ringan (Middle High German ringen, modern German wringen, German ringen (“to wrestle”))
Partly: * from Middle English wring, wringe (“twisting or wringing (of the neck)”), from Middle English wringen, wryngen (verb); and * from the modern English verb. See further at etymology 1.
From Middle English wring, wringe, wrynge (“a press, especially for olives or wine”) [and other forms], from Old English wringe, from wringan (verb): see further at etymology 1.
The verb is transitive and often pairs with the particle 'out'. The past tense and past participle are both 'wrung'.
He ringed the towelHe wrung the towelLearners confuse 'wring' with 'ring' or 'ringed'; the correct past tense of 'wring' is the irregular form 'wrung'.