twister

[ twis-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that twists.
2. Informal. a whirlwind or tornado.
3. Chiefly British Informal. a deceitful, unscrupulous person.

twister

/ ˈtwɪstə /

noun

1. a swindling or dishonest person
2. a person or thing that twists, such as a device used in making ropes
3. an informal name for tornado
4. a ball moving with a twisting motion

Word History and Origins

Origin of twister¹

1475–85; 1895–1900 twister fordef 2; twist + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The film didn’t even return key original cast members like Hunt or Bill Paxton, though there are callbacks to the original “Twister.”

From Los Angeles Times

Since working on the original “Twister” in 1996, VFX supervisor Ben Snow has earned four Oscar nominations for his contributions to fantastical projects including “Iron Man” and “Star Wars: Episode 2 — Attack of the Clones.”

From Los Angeles Times

CGI technology has, of course, made quantum leaps since you worked on “Twister” 18 years ago.

From Los Angeles Times

One tornado in “Twisters” probably took as much computing power as we used to make the whole of the first “Twister.”

From Los Angeles Times

She was always more of a flipper than a twister, and Dennis sometimes landed on her neck from over-rotating her warm-up drills.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cyclone
• tornado
• whirlwind