First recorded in 1350–1400.
Comes via Middle English from the Latin word tortuōsus, which derives from the verb torquēre, “to twist, bend.”
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF TORTUOUS\r\n

The tortuous road through the mountains made for a challenging but scenic drive.
The author's writing style was known for its elegant prose and tortuous plot twists.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/T03/T0390200.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/tortuous_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"aGbScWjqqNIyT2Umgix67","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"urubamba","entry":"Urubamba"},{"slug":"uruguaiana","entry":"Uruguaiana"},{"slug":"uruguay","entry":"Uruguay"},{"slug":"uruguayan","entry":"Uruguayan"},{"slug":"uruk","entry":"Uruk"}],"after":[{"slug":"urumiyeh","entry":"Urumiyeh"},{"slug":"urumqi","entry":"Ürümqi"},{"slug":"urundi","entry":"Urundi"},{"slug":"urus","entry":"urus"},{"slug":"urushiol","entry":"urushiol"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Urumchi"},"requestId":"UaOE18lQwIQOPCmW50mB_","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Urumchi"},"requestId":"MQYDskn9B40BMRLfA6DnZ","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"CollinsEntry","headword":{"displayForm":"Urumchi","slug":"urumchi"},"homonym":null,"note":null,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechGroups":[{"definitions":[{"crossReferencesConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"defgrp\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"a city in NW China, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: trading centre on a N route between China and central Asia. Pop: 1\\u00a0562\\u00a0000 (2005 est)\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}, {\"text\": \"Former nameTihwa\", \"type\": \"text\"}]","examples":[],"idiom":null,"ordinal":1,"sense":null,"subdefinitions":[]}],"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciations":[{"ipa":"uːˈruːmtʃɪ"}],"subEntry":[]}],"url":"urumchi"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"urumchi"},"requestId":"cA9ANa8rU2NQf960mHqfM","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"urumchi","displayForm":"Urumchi","canonicalSlug":"urumchi","content":[{"source":"collins","entries":[{"id":"u11d1def534ea1be0.1a3ea532.11d23f52334.c7.1","type":"normal","entry":"Urumchi","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":"rmqi or Wu-lu-mu-ch'i","homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":null,"ipa":"(uːˈruːmtʃɪ)"},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"","definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","definition":"a city in NW China, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: trading centre on a N route between China and central Asia. Pop: 1 562 000 (2005 est)","postdefinitionContent":"Former name: Tihwa"}]}],"origin":"","supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"derivedForms":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":164838,"index-rank-01":["urumchi"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":[],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":[],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Urumchi"},"requestId":"tJqQbIRf0mqHD6Gi0Tyck","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Urumchi","Ürümqi","armchair","uremia","Urumiyeh","aurum","uremic","arum","Erechim","Erech","orach","Arusha","orache","uraemia","uromere","rematch","overmuch","as much","-arium"],"tuna":["armchair","brunch","crunch","ruche","bronchi","crunchy","mucho","crutch","much","raunch","rich","raunchy","rum","crouch","grouch","ranch","durum","arch","ouch","overmuch","rush","drum","rump","rums","reecho","grouchy","more mucho","reach","retch","roach","rummy","rumor","a rush","brume","brush","crumb","crush","grume","rumen","aroma","reachy","very much","wretch","by much","over much","over-much","re-echo","so much","from each"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Urumchi","slug":"urumchi"},{"displayForm":"Ürümqi","slug":"urumqi"},{"displayForm":"armchair","slug":"armchair"},{"displayForm":"uremia","slug":"uremia"},{"displayForm":"Urumiyeh","slug":"urumiyeh"},{"displayForm":"aurum","slug":"aurum"},{"displayForm":"uremic","slug":"uremic"},{"displayForm":"arum","slug":"arum"},{"displayForm":"Erechim","slug":"erechim"},{"displayForm":"Erech","slug":"erech"},{"displayForm":"orach","slug":"orach"},{"displayForm":"Arusha","slug":"arusha"},{"displayForm":"orache","slug":"orache"},{"displayForm":"uraemia","slug":"uraemia"},{"displayForm":"uromere","slug":"uromere"},{"displayForm":"rematch","slug":"rematch"},{"displayForm":"overmuch","slug":"overmuch"},{"displayForm":"as much","slug":"as-much"},{"displayForm":"-arium","slug":"-arium"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"armchair","slug":"armchair"},{"displayForm":"brunch","slug":"brunch"},{"displayForm":"crunch","slug":"crunch"},{"displayForm":"ruche","slug":"ruche"},{"displayForm":"bronchi","slug":"bronchi"},{"displayForm":"crunchy","slug":"crunchy"},{"displayForm":"mucho","slug":"mucho"},{"displayForm":"crutch","slug":"crutch"},{"displayForm":"much","slug":"much"},{"displayForm":"raunch","slug":"raunch"},{"displayForm":"rich","slug":"rich"},{"displayForm":"raunchy","slug":"raunchy"},{"displayForm":"rum","slug":"rum"},{"displayForm":"crouch","slug":"crouch"},{"displayForm":"grouch","slug":"grouch"},{"displayForm":"ranch","slug":"ranch"},{"displayForm":"durum","slug":"durum"},{"displayForm":"arch","slug":"arch"},{"displayForm":"ouch","slug":"ouch"},{"displayForm":"overmuch","slug":"overmuch"},{"displayForm":"rush","slug":"rush"},{"displayForm":"drum","slug":"drum"},{"displayForm":"rump","slug":"rump"},{"displayForm":"rums","slug":"rums"},{"displayForm":"reecho","slug":"reecho"},{"displayForm":"grouchy","slug":"grouchy"},{"displayForm":"more mucho","slug":"more%20mucho"},{"displayForm":"reach","slug":"reach"},{"displayForm":"retch","slug":"retch"},{"displayForm":"roach","slug":"roach"},{"displayForm":"rummy","slug":"rummy"},{"displayForm":"rumor","slug":"rumor"},{"displayForm":"a rush","slug":"a%20rush"},{"displayForm":"brume","slug":"brume"},{"displayForm":"brush","slug":"brush"},{"displayForm":"crumb","slug":"crumb"},{"displayForm":"crush","slug":"crush"},{"displayForm":"grume","slug":"grume"},{"displayForm":"rumen","slug":"rumen"},{"displayForm":"aroma","slug":"aroma"},{"displayForm":"reachy","slug":"reachy"},{"displayForm":"very much","slug":"very%20much"},{"displayForm":"wretch","slug":"wretch"},{"displayForm":"by much","slug":"by%20much"},{"displayForm":"over much","slug":"over%20much"},{"displayForm":"over-much","slug":"over-much"},{"displayForm":"re-echo","slug":"re-echo"},{"displayForm":"so much","slug":"so%20much"},{"displayForm":"from each","slug":"from%20each"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Urumchi"},"requestId":"x5tghRY7kU1o2R0Wi9dMK","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Urumchi

noun

Word of the Day