wrist

W4R1I1S1T1
/ɹɪst/

noun

The complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus in a narrow sense.

“With a flick of the wrist, he threw the frisbee to a team-mate.”

Similar
carpuswrist jointradiocarpal jointarticulatio radiocarpea
OriginMiddle English wrist ← Old English wrist ← Proto-West Germanic *wristu →
CommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nounwrist (plural wrists)

plural wrists

  1. anatomyThe complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus in a narrow sense.

    With a flick of the wrist, he threw the frisbee to a team-mate.

  2. engineeringA stud or pin which forms a journal.
verbwrist (third-person singular simple present wrists, present participle wristing, simple past and past participle wristed)

present singular third person wrists · participle present wristing · participle past wristed · past wristed

  1. hobbiesTo hit a wrist shot.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones

Similar
carpuswrist jointradiocarpal jointarticulatio radiocarpea
Broader
gliding jointarticulatio plana
Also see
carpus

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*wrīþaną“to twist, turn”
  2. Proto-Germanic*wristuz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*wristu
  4. Old Englishwrist
  5. Middle Englishwrist
  6. Englishwrist

From Middle English wrist, from Old English wrist, from Proto-West Germanic *wristu, from Proto-Germanic *wristuz (compare Old Frisian wrist, Low German Wrist, German Rist (“back of hand, instep, withers”), Swedish vrist), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to twist, turn”). More at writhe.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans pols, handgewrig
  • polsjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • handgewrigjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Ancient Greek καρπός
  • καρπός (karpós)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Arabic مِعْصَم, رُسْغ
  • مِعْصَم (miʕṣam)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • رُسْغ (rusḡ)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Basque eskumutur
  • eskumuturjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Bulgarian ки́тка
  • ки́тка (kítka)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Catalan canell, monyica
  • canelljoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • monyicajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • govanellajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Chinese Cantonese 手腕
  • 手腕 (sau² wun²)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Chinese Mandarin 手腕, 腕子
  • 手腕 (shǒuwàn)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • 腕子 (wànzi)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Czech zápěstí
  • zápěstíjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Danish håndled
  • håndledjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Dutch pols
  • polsjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Esperanto pojno
  • pojnojoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Estonian ranne
  • rannejoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Finnish ranne
  • rannejoint where the hand is attached to the arm
French poignet
  • poignetjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
German Handgelenk
  • Handgelenkjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Greek καρπός
  • καρπός (karpós)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Hebrew שורש כף היד
  • שורש כף היד (šóreš kaf hayad)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Hindi कलाई
  • कलाई (kalāī)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Hungarian csukló
  • csuklójoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Icelandic úlnliður
  • úlnliðurjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Indonesian pergelangan tangan
  • pergelangan tanganjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Irish rosta, bunrí
  • rostajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • bunríjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • caol na láimhejoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • bunríjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Italian polso
  • polsojoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Japanese 手首
  • 手首 (tekubi)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Korean 손목, 팔목
  • 손목 (sonmok)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • 팔목 (palmok)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Latin carpus
  • carpusjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Latvian delna
  • delnajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Lithuanian riešas
  • riešasjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Malay pergelangan tangan, karpus
  • pergelangan tanganjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • karpusjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Norwegian Bokmål håndledd
  • håndleddjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Persian مچ, مچ دست
  • مچ (moč)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • مچ دست (moč-e dast)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • خرده (xorde)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • خردگاه (xordgâh)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Polish nadgarstek
  • nadgarstekjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Portuguese punho, pulso
  • punhojoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • pulsojoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • munhecajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Punjabi ਗੁੱਟ
  • ਗੁੱਟ (guṭṭa)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Romanian încheietura mâinii, încheietură
  • încheietura mâiniijoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • încheieturăjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Russian запя́стье
  • запя́стье (zapjástʹje)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Scottish Gaelic caol-dùirn
  • caol-dùirnjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Slovak zápestie
  • zápestiejoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Spanish muñeca
  • muñecajoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Swedish handled
  • handledjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Tagalog galanggalangan, pulso
  • galanggalanganjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
  • pulsojoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Tamil மணிக்கட்டு
  • மணிக்கட்டு (maṇikkaṭṭu)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Thai ข้อมือ
  • ข้อมือ (kɔ̂ɔ-mʉʉ)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Turkish bilek
  • bilekjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Ukrainian зап'я́стя
  • зап'я́стя (zapʺjástja)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Urdu کَلَائِی
  • کَلَائِی (kalāī)joint where the hand is attached to the arm
Vietnamese cổ tay
  • cổ tayjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Welsh arddwrn
  • arddwrnjoint where the hand is attached to the arm
Zulu isihlakala
  • isihlakalajoint where the hand is attached to the arm

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wrist

listassistexisthististfisttwistconsistresistdismissedmistinsistpersistfristcystenlistgistdesistgristLisztcoexistbistpistetryst
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

wrist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrist

MLA

“wrist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrist. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wrist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrist.

Source: wrist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.