twist
Americanverb (used with object)
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to combine, as two or more strands or threads, by winding together; intertwine.
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to form by or as if by winding strands together.
Several fibers were used to twist the rope.
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to entwine (one thing) with another; interlace (something) with something else; interweave; plait.
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to wind or coil (something) about something else; encircle; entwine; wreathe.
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to alter in shape, as by turning the ends in opposite directions, so that parts previously in the same straight line and plane are located in a spiral curve.
The sculptor twisted the form into an arabesque. He twisted his body around to look behind him.
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to turn sharply or wrench out of place; sprain.
He twisted his ankle.
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to pull, tear, or break off by turning forcibly.
He twisted the arm off the puppet.
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to distort (the features) by tensing or contracting the facial muscles; contort.
She twisted her face in a wry smile.
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to distort the meaning or form of; pervert.
He twisted my comment about to suit his own purpose.
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to cause to become mentally or emotionally distorted; warp.
The loss of his business twisted his whole outlook on life.
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to form into a coil, knot, or the like by winding, rolling, etc..
to twist the hair into a knot.
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to bend tortuously.
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to cause to move with a rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.
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to turn (something) from one direction to another, as by rotating or revolving.
I twisted my chair to face the window.
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to combine or associate intimately.
verb (used without object)
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to be or become intertwined.
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to wind or twine about something.
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to writhe or squirm.
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to take a spiral form or course; wind, curve, or bend.
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to turn or rotate, as on an axis; revolve, as about something; spin.
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to turn so as to face in another direction.
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to turn, coil, or bend into a spiral shape.
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to change shape under forcible turning or twisting.
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to move with a progressive rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.
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to dance the twist.
noun
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the action of turning or rotating on an axis; rotary motion; spin.
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anything formed by or as if by twisting or twining parts together.
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the act or process of twining strands together, as in thread, yarn, or rope.
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a twisting awry or askew.
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distortion or perversion, as of meaning or form.
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a peculiar attitude or bias; eccentric turn or bent of mind; eccentricity.
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spiral disposition, arrangement, or form.
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spiral movement or course.
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a sudden, unanticipated change of course, as of events.
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a treatment, method, idea, version, etc., especially one differing from that which preceded.
The screenwriters gave the old plot a new twist.
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the changing of the shape of anything by or as by turning the ends in opposite directions.
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the stress causing this alteration; torque.
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the resulting state.
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a twisting or torsional action, force, or stress; torsion.
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a strong, twisted silk thread, heavier than ordinary sewing silk, for working buttonholes and for other purposes.
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the direction of twisting in weaving yarn; S twist or Z twist.
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a loaf or roll of dough twisted and baked.
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a strip of citrus peel that has been twisted and placed in a drink to add flavor.
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a kind of tobacco manufactured in the form of a rope or thick cord.
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a dance performed by couples and characterized by strongly rhythmic turns and twists of the arms, legs, and torso.
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the degree of spiral formed by the grooves in a rifled firearm or cannon.
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Gymnastics, Diving. a full rotation of the body about the vertical axis.
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a wrench.
idioms
verb
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to cause (one end or part) to turn or (of one end or part) to turn in the opposite direction from another; coil or spin
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to distort or be distorted; change in shape
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to wind or cause to wind; twine, coil, or intertwine
to twist flowers into a wreath
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to force or be forced out of the natural form or position
to twist one's ankle
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(usually passive) to change or cause to change for the worse in character, meaning, etc; pervert
his ideas are twisted
she twisted the statement
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to revolve or cause to revolve; rotate
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(tr) to wrench with a turning action
to twist something from someone's grasp
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(intr) to follow a winding course
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(intr) to squirm, as with pain
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(intr) to dance the twist
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informal (tr) to cheat; swindle
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to persuade or coerce someone
noun
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the act or an instance of twisting
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something formed by or as if by twisting
a twist of hair
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a decisive change of direction, aim, meaning, or character
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(in a novel, play, etc) an unexpected event, revelation, or other development
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a bend
a twist in the road
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a distortion of the original or natural shape or form
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a jerky pull, wrench, or turn
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a strange personal characteristic, esp a bad one
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a confused mess, tangle, or knot made by twisting
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a twisted thread used in sewing where extra strength is needed
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(in weaving) a specified direction of twisting the yarn
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a modern dance popular in the 1960s, in which couples vigorously twist the hips in time to rhythmic music
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a bread loaf or roll made of one or more pieces of twisted dough
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a thin sliver of peel from a lemon, lime, etc, twisted and added to a drink
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a cigar made by twisting three cigars around one another
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chewing tobacco made in the form of a roll by twisting the leaves together
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physics torsional deformation or shear stress or strain
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sport spin given to a ball in various games, esp baseball
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the extent to which the grooves in the bore of a rifled firearm are spiralled
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slang mad; eccentric
Related Words
See turn.
Other Word Forms
- overtwist verb
- retwist verb
- twistability noun
- twistable adjective
- twisted adjective
- twisting adjective
- twistingly adverb
- twisty adjective
- untwistable adjective
Etymology
Origin of twist
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English twisten “to divide,” derivative of twist “divided object, rope” (compare Old English -twist in candel-twist “pair of snuffers”); cognate with Dutch twisten “to quarrel,” German Zwist “a quarrel.” See twi-
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
