twig
1 Americannoun
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a slender shoot of a tree or other plant.
-
a small offshoot from a branch or stem.
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a small, dry, woody piece fallen from a branch.
a fire of twigs.
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Anatomy. one of the minute branches of a blood vessel or nerve.
verb (used with object)
-
twigs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twigged,
past participle, past
-
twigging
present participle
verb (used without object)
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twigs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twigged,
past participle, past
-
twigging
present participle
noun
verb
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to understand (something)
-
to find out or suddenly comprehend (something)
he hasn't twigged yet
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rare (tr) to perceive (something)
noun
-
any small branch or shoot of a tree or other woody plant
-
something resembling this, esp a minute branch of a blood vessel
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
twigsimple
-
twigssimple
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have twiggedperfect
-
has twiggedperfect
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am twiggingprogressive
-
are twiggingprogressive
-
is twiggingprogressive
-
have been twiggingperfect progressive
-
has been twiggingperfect progressive
Past
-
twiggedsimple
-
had twiggedperfect
-
was twiggingprogressive
-
were twiggingprogressive
-
had been twiggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twig1
First recorded before 950; Middle English twig, twig(g)e; Old English twig, twigge, twī originally “(something) divided in two”; akin to Old High German zwīg ( German Zweig ), Dutch twijg; compare Sanskrit dvikás “double”; see origin at twi- ( def. )
Origin of twig2
First recorded in 1760–70; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Irish tuigim “I understand”
Origin of twig3
First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The words “California Republic” were painted in black ink with the chewed end of a twig.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Soon enough, trees everywhere were showing blotchy, mottled, yellowed leaves and suffering from twig dieback and sparse foliage.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
In 1960, during her first year at Gombe, Goodall observed a chimpanzee she called David Greybeard carefully strip a twig of leaves and use it to root out tasty termites from a mound.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2025
He then used that stripped, bent twig to spoon the termites into his mouth.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
He spat out the twig he was chewing.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Some create burrows in the ground, others use cavities in wood such as tree hollows or fallen branches, and some nest inside plant stems or small existing holes in twigs.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
In Vietnam, herons cast twigs in ponds like fly-fishermen to lure prey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
FKA twigs, who is also a singer and choreographer, said Baker's "extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people".
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Kathleen would fill the holes with rolled-up newspaper or twigs but they would always be on the floor by the morning.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2025
“Set your bag down and get to gathering up a bunch of twigs and any dead leaves you see, will ya?”
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
Although nobody twigged at the time, she was in fact hinting that she was pregnant with her second child.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2023
"Nobody should be watching those press conferences!" she said emphatically, when she twigged to what I'd been up to.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2020
Then, eventually, they twigged that we were interested in biodiversity, flora, and fauna, and people started coming in with chameleons.
From The Verge ● Aug. 28, 2018
Many people on Wall Street twigged to this a good while ago.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 27, 2017
If Pamela really is the culprit, the evidence was right in front of us, and nobody twigged to it.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Big Bob was no less inquisitive than the others, despite his twigging of Frank for his curiosity.
From The Radio Boys Rescue the Lost Alaska Expedition by Gerald Breckenridge
The results of Archie's twigging were very apparent; notably the golden-oak rocking-chair, the "chiffoneer" surmounted by the bronze lady with a spear.
From Why Joan? by Eleanor Mercein Kelly
She was touched but alarmed, and decided that she would better hasten the wedding if only to put a stop to this indiscriminate twigging.
From Why Joan? by Eleanor Mercein Kelly
One night, returnin home to bed, I walk’d through Pim-li-co, And, twigging of the Palass, sed, “I’m Jones and In-i-go.”
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, August 7, 1841 by Various
You are right," said Smith, "I—was twigging you again.
From Captivating Mary Carstairs by Raymond Moreau Crosby
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.
