Meanings
plural bicycle wrenches
- datedchiefly 1880s-1920sAny wrench meant for or considered to be mainly for the purpose of repairing bicycles.
- datedchiefly 1900s-1920sAny small and handy wrench as might be well suited for repairing bicycles, but not limited to bicycle use.
1 more example
With the boom in the bicycle business [1890s] there came an excellent opportunity for wrench makers, and the large number of "bicycle" wrenches that have survived [1914] make plain how well the opportunity was embraced. Obviously, these bicycle wrenches are quite as useful around an automobile as they are around a bicycle. In fact, their designation now stands for small size rather than to connect them with the bicycle industry. In fact, almost any small wrench now is styled a "bicycle" wrench and some of them are remarkably ingenious.
1914 January 15, [Editors], “Usefulness of bicycle wrenches”, in Motor World, volume 38, number 4, page 34
Cite this entry
bicycle wrench. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20wrench
“bicycle wrench.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20wrench. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bicycle wrench,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bicycle%20wrench.
Source: bicycle wrench on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.