spanner
verbEtymology From span + -er.
1
To use a spanner; to fix with a spanner
spanner
nounUK /ˈspænə/ · UK, WA /ˈspanə/
Etymology From span + -er.
8 senses
- 1A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts.
- 2Any of certain types of such a tool that have a pin or…
- 3One who, or that which, spans.
- 4A (usually sparse) graph whose shortest path distances…
- 5A hand tool shaped like a small crank handle, for…
- 6A device in early steam engines for moving the valves…
- 7A problem, dilemma or obstacle; something unexpected or…
- 8A stupid or unintelligent person; one prone to making…
1
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:
2
Canada, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, US 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.
3
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:
4
Graph theory, Mathematics, Sciences A (usually sparse) graph whose shortest path distances approximate those in a dense graph or other metric space.
5
Engineering, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry 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:
6
Obsolete A device in early steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.
7
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.
8
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!
- Synonyms
- wrench
- Derived terms
- adjustable spanner, bobbejaan spanner, crescent spanner, dog bone spanner, put a spanner in the works, ring spanner, shifting spanner, spanner barb, spanner crab, spannered, spanner in the works, spannerless, spanner wrench, spider spanner, throw a spanner in the works, throw a spanner into the works, torque spanner