Word Confusion: Rest versus Wrest

Plural for the noun: rests
Gerund: resting

Third person present verb: rests
Past tense or past participle: rested
Present participle: resting

Plural for the archaic noun: wrests
Gerund: wresting

Third person present verb: wrests
Past tense or past participle: wrested
Present participle: wresting

An instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity

[Music] An interval of silence of a specified duration

• The mark or sign denoting a pause
• [Prosody] A pause in speech or verse
• Caesura

[In combination] An object that is used to support something

• A support or hook for a telephone receiver when not in use
• [Billiards, Pool] A support for a cue

Mental or spiritual calm

• Tranquillity

The repose of death

Cessation or absence of motion

A place that provides shelter or lodging for travelers, as an inn

Any stopping or resting place

[In singular] The remaining part of something ²

• [Treated as plural] The remaining people or things
• The others

[Anatomy] A small, detached portion of an organ or tissue

Rally in real tennis

Verb, intransitive:
Cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength ¹

• [Of a dead person] Lie buried
• [Of a problem or subject] Be left without further investigation, discussion, or treatment

Be placed or supported so as to stay in a specified position

• [of a look; rest on, rest upon] Alight or be steadily directed on

[rest on, rest upon] Be based on or grounded in

• Depend on
• Belong or be located at a specified place or with a specified person

[Law; North American] Conclude the case for the prosecution or the defense in a law case

To be at ease

• Have tranquillity or peace

To be quiet or still

To cease from motion, come to rest

• Stop

To become or remain inactive

To stay as is or remain without further action or notice

To lie, sit, lean, or be set

[Agriculture] To lie fallow or unworked

[Usually followed by on or upon] To be imposed as a burden or responsibility

[Usually followed by on or upon] To rely

[Usually followed by on or upon] To be based or founded

[Often followed by with] To be found

• Belong
• Reside

[Usually followed by on or upon] To be present

• Dwell
• Linger

[With complement] Remain or be left in a specified condition ²

Verb, transitive:
Allow to be inactive in order to regain strength, health, or energy ¹

• Leave (a player) out of a team temporarily
• Allow (land) to lie fallow

[With adverbial of place] Place (something) so that it is supported in a specified position

[rest something in/on] Place hope, trust, or confidence on or in

[Law; North American] Conclude the case for the prosecution or the defense in a law case

To give rest to

• Refresh with rest

To rest oneself

To lay or place for rest, ease, or support

To direct (as the eyes)

To base, or let depend, as on some ground of reliance

• To bring to rest
• Halt
• Stop

• Twist or wrench
• Distortion

[Archaic; music] A key or small wrench for tuning a harp or piano

Active or moving power

A partition in a water wheel, by which the form of the buckets is determined

[Obsolete; rare; saw wrest] A hand tool for setting the teeth of a saw, determining the width of the kerf

• A saw set

[Dialectical; agriculture] A metal (formerly wooden) piece of some ploughs attached under the mouldboard for clearing out the furrow

• The mouldboard

Verb, transitive:
Forcibly pull (something) from a person’s grasp

• To twist or turn
• Pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist
• Take (something, especially power or control) from someone or something else after considerable effort or difficulty
• Wrench
• [Archaic] Distort the meaning or interpretation of (something) to suit one’s own interests or views
• Pervert
• Twist

You look as though you need a rest.

The doctor said you need a couple of days of complete rest.

The car accelerates rapidly from rest.

In a 4/4 time signature, a whole rest would be the equivalent of 4 beats of silence while a half rest would be 2 beats of silence.

On sheet music, a whole rest looks like a small black rectangle.

A comma in written text indicates a rest in the sentence while a caesura is a rest in poetry.

The chin-rest on her violin is made of ebony.

Looks like you’ve worn out that shoulder-rest.

Carefully the receiver was replaced on the rest.

A cross rake is a type of rest, with a straight shaft and an x-shaped head upon which to rest the cue.

She’s going away for a rest.

He’s going to his eternal rest.

He was fortunate that he was going uphill when his brakes failed, as it was so much easier to bring his car to a rest.

There should be a rest stop in a few miles.

It was a roadside rest for weary hikers.

What do you want to do for the rest of your life?

I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow night.

The rest of us were experienced skiers.

These findings strongly support the origin of the tumor from heterotopic retroperitoneal rests of the adrenal gland.

A rest does not necessarily end if a player misses or fails to reach a ball.

Verb, intransitive:
He needed to rest after the feverish activity.

I’m going to rest up before traveling to England.

The king’s body rested in his tomb.

The council has urged the planning committee not to allow the matter to rest.

Her elbow was resting on the arm of the sofa.

His eyes rested briefly on the boy.

The country’s security rested on its alliances.

Ultimate control rested with the founders.

The prosecution rests.

Sure, we could let the matter rest.

His arm rested on the table.

We need to let the land rest.

The blame rests with them.

A sunbeam rests upon the altar.

Verb, transitive:
Her friend read to her while she rested her eyes.

Both men were rested for the final game.

He rested a hand on her shoulder.

She rested her hopes in her attorney.

He laid back and rested against the fence post.

She sat back and rested her eyes on Paul.

I’ll need a wrest to bring this harp back in tune.

“The form of bucket last mentioned, having the wrest concentric with the rim, is unfavorable to the ready admission of the water” (Black, 801).

“They put one of the notches of the wrest between the first two teeth of the blade of the saw, and then turn the handle horizontally a little about upon the notch towards the end of the saw” (Curtis, 340).

“The ground wrest was placed at an angle to the landside in the horizontal plane, like the edge of a modern share, but stood nearly perpendicular to the bottom of the furrow” (Ellis, 136).

Verb, transitive:
Leila tried to wrest her arm from his hold.

Wrest that knife from that child.

It’s difficult to wrest a living from the soil.

They wanted to allow people to wrest control of their lives from impersonal bureaucracies.

His efforts helped the British to wrest control of Canada away from the French.

Having wrested at least partial control of the distribution process through file-sharing and downloading, consumers have voiced their dissatisfaction with the corporate stranglehold on home entertainment.

You appear convinced of my guilt, and wrest every reply I have made.

Epiphanius further charges Simon with having tried to wrest the words of St Paul about the armour of God.

1. Old English ræst, rest (noun) and ræstan, restan (verb), are of Germanic origin, from a root meaning league or mile, referring to a distance after which one rests.
2. Late Middle English from the Old French reste (noun), rester (verb), from the Latin restare meaning remain, from re- (back) + stare (to stand).