wringer
Americannoun
-
an apparatus or machine for squeezing liquid out of anything wet, such as a pair of rollers between which an article of wet clothing may be squeezed.
-
a painful, difficult, or tiring experience; ordeal.
Their years-long disagreement was an emotional wringer that hurt them both deeply.
-
a person or thing that wrings.
My father is a real worrier—a wringer of hands and a pacer of floors.
idioms
noun
Etymology
Origin of wringer
First recorded in 1250–1300; wring ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By the time Marty arrives in Japan, his everyday suit “has been through the wringer.”
From Los Angeles Times
After putting these VPNs through the wringer, here’s the bottom line: NordVPN is our overall winner because it nails that sweet spot of features, performance, and price.
From Salon
Most folks still thought a bathroom inside the house was unnecessary, expensive, maybe even unsanitary, though Aunt Pretty sighed a lot when she read about big-city houses with indoor plumbing and wringer washers and iceboxes.
From Literature
A book that will put you through the emotional wringer, Brar says it was inspired "by the love my father had in running his sub-Post Office for over twenty years".
From BBC
There is nothing to boo about that, but the Tartan Army had just been put through the wringer as they watched their side struggle against the world's 100th-best national team.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
