How to spell wrestle

hear itwres·tle/'rɛsəl/verbSilent and tricky

What it means: To engage in close hand-to-hand combat.

In a sentence: The kids like to wrestle in the grassy yard.

The part people get wrong

Watch for a silent w and a silent t, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as wrestel or restle.

Same family: wrestling, wrestler, wrestled, struggle, grapple. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Wrestle” comes from Old English “wrǣstlian,” related to “wrist” and an old word meaning to twist or wrench. The silent “w” shows its connection to other old Germanic words starting with “wr-” that had twisting or turning meanings.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa) · Silent letters

Try spelling it

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