- 1
A hand tool for adjusting nuts and bolts.CommonwealthIrelandUK
- Pass me that spanner, Jake; there's just one more bolt to screw in.
- 2
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.CanadaCommonwealthIreland
- The groove in this toolholder is what the spanner grabs onto when you are changing the tool.
- 3
One who, or that which, spans.rare
- The scheme of the spanner of continents and the desire of the little husbandman hoarding for his loved ones...
- 4
A (usually sparse) graph whose shortest path distances approximate those in a dense graph or other metric space.
- 5
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.
- 6
A device in early steam engines for moving the valves for the alternate admission and shutting off of the steam.obsolete
- 7
A problem, dilemma or obstacle; something unexpected or troublesome (in the phrase spanner in the works)IrelandUK
- 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
A stupid or unintelligent person; one prone to making mistakes, especially in language.IrelandUKderogatory
- You spanner, Rodney! I wanted some time, not a bunch of thyme!
syn. wrench