From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwieldwield /wiːld/ ●○○ verb [transitive] 1 → wield power/influence/authority etc2 HOLDto hold a weapon or tool that you are going to use She had her car windows smashed by a gang wielding baseball bats.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
wield• The man moved toward them, wielding a stick.• The rioters faced police who were wielding clubs and batons.• In the chair of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a lobbying group, she wields considerable influence in the Valley and beyond.• Now a generation of southern Republicans, brought up resenting the interfering ways of the federal government, is wielding disproportionate power.• Yet racial, national, and religious power blocs have always been integral to how power is wielded in this nation.• And the more one knew, the more control one could wield over circumstance.• He remained calm and imposing, a true Commander-in-Chief wielding sovereign authority.• Houses have been invaded at night by machine-gun wielding thugs.• But it is outside the Pru, in the City, where Newmarch's muscle is wielded to the most dramatic effect.Origin wield Old English wieldan 