spanner en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈspɛnə/ (New-Zealand)
- audio Queensland
- [ˈspɛnə] (New-Zealand)
- /ˈspænə/ æ-raising
- [ˈspanə] (British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales)
- [ˈspeːnə] ~ [ˈspɛːnə] æ-raising
- [ˈspænə] ~ [ˈspanə] (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈspænɚ/ US, Canada, æ-raising
- [ˈspænə] without æ-raising
- [ˈspeə̯nɚ] ~ [ˈspɛə̯nɚ] US, Canada, æ-raising
- [ˈspänəɾ] (Scotland)
- /ˈspænə/ without æ-raising
- /ˈspanəɾ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈspænə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (California) audio
- /ˈspanə/ (British, Northern-England, Southern, Standard, Wales)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend-der. Proto-Germanic *spannō Old English spann Middle English spanne English span Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English spanner From span + -er.
Meanings
-
(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK) A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts.
Pass me that spanner, Jake; there's just one more bolt to screw in.
Tools don’t have judgment or ethics, and they might fail to push back on bad ideas or dangerous requests. “Your spanner’s never like, ‘This shouldn’t be built,’” she said, using a British term for wrench.
2025 December 19, Kashmir Hill, quoting Amanda Askell, “Why Do A.I. Chatbots Use ‘I’?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
-
(Canada, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, US) A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts. ▸ 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.
-
(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, Florence Kiper Frank, The Jew to Jesus: and other poems:
- A (usually sparse) graph whose shortest path distances approximate those in a dense graph or other metric space.
-
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, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, Fig. 10., page xvi:
- (obsolete) A device in early steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.
-
(Ireland, UK) 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.
-
(Ireland, UK, derogatory, mildly) 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!
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| spanners | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
throw a spanner in the works · spanner wrench · throw a spanner into the works · crescent spanner · put a spanner in the works · bobbejaan spanner · spanner barb · spanner crab · dog bone spanner · torque spanner · spider spanner · spannerless · spanner in the works · spannered · ring spanner · shifting spanner · adjustable spanner
Descendants
Hypernyms
hand tool · tool · tool · wrench · hand tool
Synonyms
wrench · wrench · wrench (hand tool for nuts and bolts)
Translations (116)
cmn 扳子 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hi पाना (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · et võti (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · el κλειδί (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hu villáskulcs (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · bg ключ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · de Sand (im Getriebe) (something unexpected or troublesome) · mi mauhuri (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · it chiave inglese (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · et mutrivõti (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nv bee ił hadaʼagizí (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · es llave fija (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ko 렌치 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · vi cờ lê (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sq çelës (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nb fastnøkkel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ja レンチ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uz gayka kaliti (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sh kljȗč (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · is skrúflykill (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sv skruvnyckel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · da fastnøgle (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · bn প্লাস (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ca clau anglesa (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · mi wāwāhi (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ka ქანჩის გასაღები (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ky гайка ачкычы (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sl ključ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sl vijačni ključ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hu franciakulcs (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ky ачкыч (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · mt ġewża (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · az açar (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · id kunci pas (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · kk кілт (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · pl klucz płaski (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ga rinse (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hy պտուտակաբանալի (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · pl klucz (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nl steeksleutel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · tr İngiliz anahtarı (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fr clé de serrage (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · yue 士巴拿 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · cs klíč (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fr clef à écrous (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · kk сомын кілті (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nl sleutel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · bn সাঁড়াশিবিশেষ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · lo ປະແຈ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · cmn 扳手 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nrf clié à êcrouettes (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ary كالمونط (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · nb skiftenøkkel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · da skiftenøgle (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · he מַפתֵחַ בְּרָגִים (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · da svensknøgle (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · tg калиди гайкатобӣ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ga castaire (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · my ကဏန်းလက်မ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · vi mỏ lết (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · wuu 扳手 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ka ქანჩგასაღები (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · de Schlüssel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · lv atslēga (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · wuu 扳頭 /扳头 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hy մանեկադարձիչ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · de Schraubenschlüssel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fr clé (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ba асҡыс (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · lt raktas (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uz kalit (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · mi huriperu (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sh кљу̑ч (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · tl liyabe (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · it chiave (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uk мутро́вий ключ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ha sufana (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · eo boltilo (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ug كۇلۇچ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · pt chave inglesa (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ur پانا (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · mk клуч (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ar مِفْتَاح رَبْط (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ja スパナ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ru ключ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ms sepana (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uz gayka klyuchi (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · de Knüppel (zwischen den Beinen) (something unexpected or troublesome) · ka გასაღები (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · prs رَنْج (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · es llave (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · is skiptilykill (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · it pappagallo (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · th ประแจ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fr serre-écrou (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fr clef (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sk kľúč (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · tt ачкыч (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uz klyuch (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · cy sbaner (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · pt chave (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ro cheie (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sw spana (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · az qayka açarı (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fi kiintoavain (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · sv nyckel (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · id sepanar (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · mr पाना (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · uk ключ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · be ключ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · km សោ (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fi jakoavain (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · gl chave (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · ko 스패너 (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · hu csavarkulcs (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts) · fa-ira آچار (hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts)