Sekirov Dictionary

spanner

/ˈspænə/

noun 8
verb 1
forms 3
phrases 2

noun8

•
(UK, Commonwealth) A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts.
- Pass me that spanner, Jake; there's just one more bolt to screw in.
•
Any of certain types of such a tool that have a pin or hook to engage the driven object.
- The groove in this toolholder is what the spanner grabs onto when you are changing the tool.
•
A hand tool shaped like a small crank handle, for winding the spring of a wheel lock on a musket.
- The spanner for spanning or winding up the spring of the wheel lock. — 1786
•
(UK, Ireland) A problem, dilemma or obstacle; something unexpected or troublesome (in the phrase spanner in the works)
- Halfway through the production of Macbeth, the director found that the stage was smaller than he expected. This really threw a spanner in the works.
•
(UK, disapproving) A stupid or unintelligent person; one prone to making mistakes, especially in language.
- You spanner, Rodney! I wanted some time, not a bunch of thyme!
A (usually sparse) graph whose shortest path distances approximate those in a dense graph or other metric space.
•
(rare) One who, or that which, spans.
- The scheme of the spanner of continents and the desire of the little husbandman hoarding for his loved ones... — 1915
(no longer used) A device in early steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.

verb1

To use a spanner; to fix with a spanner

forms

spannered · spannering · spanners

Phrases with spanner

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