twin
1 Americannoun
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twins
plural
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either of two children or animals brought forth at a birth.
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either of two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.
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Also called twin room. a type of hotel accommodation with twin beds, for occupancy by two persons.
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Also called hemitrope. Crystallography. a compound crystal consisting of two or more parts or crystals definitely oriented each to the other; macle.
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Astronomy, Astrology. Twins, the constellation or sign of Gemini.
adjective
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being a twin or twins.
twin sisters.
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being two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.
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being one of a pair; identical.
a twin bracelet; a twin peak.
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consisting of two similar parts or elements joined or connected.
a twin vase.
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Botany, Zoology. occurring in pairs; didymous.
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Crystallography. of the nature of a twin; hemitrope.
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twofold or double.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish a counterpart to or a replica of; match.
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Informal. to divide or convert into two, parts, similar items, etc..
The old movie palace will be twinned, making two smaller theaters.
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Informal. to link or combine with.
The new grocery store is twinned with a restaurant.
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Crystallography. to form into a twin.
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Obsolete. to give birth to as twins.
verb (used without object)
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to give birth to twins.
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to be paired or coupled.
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to match or resemble someone or something in a specific way, and to acknowledge this resemblance: Check out these photos of moms and daughters twinning!
They are twinning so hard right now.
Check out these photos of moms and daughters twinning!
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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either of two persons or things that are identical or very similar; counterpart
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( as modifier )
twin carburettors
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Also called: macle. a crystal consisting of two parts each of which has a definite orientation to the other
verb
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to pair or be paired together; couple
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(intr) to bear twins
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(intr) (of a crystal) to form into a twin
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archaic (intr) to be born as a twin
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(tr)
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to create a reciprocal relation between (two towns in different countries); pair (a town) with another in a different country
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(intr) (of a town) to be paired with a town in a different country
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One of two offspring born of a single gestation. Identical twins result from the division of a fertilized egg. Fraternal twins result from the fertilization of two separate eggs at the same time.
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A crystal structure consisting of two intergrown crystals that are mirror images of each other. Mineral twins can form as result of defective crystal growth in response to stress from rock deformation or during magma cooling.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of twin
First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective twynne, twinne, Old English adjective twinn “twofold, double”; noun and adjective getwinn “double,” (plural getwinnas “twins”); akin to Old Frisian twīna, twīne “two together,” Old Norse tvinnr “double,” Gothic twaihnái “two each”
Explanation
When mammals have two babies at once, each of them is a twin. If you have a twin brother or sister, the two of you are always the same age. There are identical twins, who have the same DNA, and fraternal twins, who are more like two siblings who happen to be born at the same time. It's more common to describe humans as twins than other animals. The adjective twin can also describe a pair of things, like the twin chocolate cakes you serve at your birthday party or the "Twin Cities" in Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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 cluster led by Artemis Technologies, will connect electric vessels, high-power marine charging, autonomous transport and energy systems through secure digital twin technology.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Declonius Peck, its beloved editor-in-chief, has gone to prison for embezzlement, and his evil twin, Salton, has assumed management of the family business, along with the 39 editors who curate the periodical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Seattle-based artist, Bliss Kolb, previously told the shop that “he would be willing to part with Molly’s twin for $15,000.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
“The Band’s Visit” and “Be More Chill,” which also broke free from the twin strangleholds of by-the-numbers pop-rock and synthetic Disneypop, both filled the bill in their very different ways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The source of the disagreement goes much deeper, however, involving conflicting attitudes toward government itself, competing versions of citizenship, differing postures toward the twin goals of freedom and equality.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Swank and Schneider married in 2018 and became parents in 2023 with the arrival of twins Aya and Ohm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
She then put the property on the market for $29.9 million in May, just two months before her youngest children, twins Knox and Vivienne, celebrated their 18th birthdays.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
No doubt the TikTok amateur detectives would’ve momentarily shifted from true crime to the Chaplin twins, trying their damnedest to debunk what only the sisters could truly understand.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
When she finally saw the twins again, in Isfahan’s female prison, their mother could hardly recognize them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
It was Sunday morning, and Jess and the Rowan twins were riding in the back of a red Ford pickup truck.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
Is it this twinned violence and fecundity that feeds our dread?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Set in Vietnam in 2001 and focused, ostensibly, on its two eponymous characters, this is a film about mirrored visions of history and twinned versions of desire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025
Months at first, then anniversaries, birthdays twinned in the mental calendar with dates of death.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024
And I suppose these twinned non-endorsements did make sense, if you’ve been tracking the trajectory of these two newspapers—and the news business in general—over the past few years.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2024
My nail-bitten fingers twinned with his, pale and webbed with purple veins.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
But all those efforts at twinning are a bit futile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
In 1980, he was involved in flying the Palestinian flag from the offices of Dundee Council, and was involved in the twinning of Dundee with the West Bank town of Nablus.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
Because two to three weeks after conception, twinning might occur.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022
Jessica Beck, a curator at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, came up with the idea of twinning the artists as a way of reintroducing Marisol and showing the overlap of ideas and influence.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2022
She spun slowly, taking in the curious twinning of familiarity and the strange that was stranger in its way than the wholly alien had been.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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