conjoined twin

noun

1. either of a pair of identical twins born with their bodies joined together in some manner, having failed to separate completely in utero.

Word History and Origins

Origin of conjoined twin¹

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

The hatchling looks like a pair of conjoined twins, with two independently moving heads poking out of its green shell.

From Popular-Science

Waldhausen said that when the Lincoln babies had their surgeries, there were fewer than two dozen sets of conjoined twins in the world that had been successfully separated at the abdomen.

From Washington Post

As the technology got more precise and less invasive, human-to-human links grew seamless, inspired by ancient and intriguing examples of conjoined twins with shared awareness.

From Science News

Related Words

• Siamese twin
• twin