twitch
verb (used with object)
to tug or pull at with a quick, short movement; pluck.
twitch
1 American
[twich]
/ twɪtʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
twitches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twitched,
past participle, past
-
twitching
present participle
-
to tug or pull at with a quick, short movement; pluck.
She twitched him by the sleeve.
-
to jerk rapidly.
The rider twitched the reins a couple of times.
-
to move (a part of the body) with a sudden, jerking motion.
-
to pinch or pull at sharply and painfully; give a smarting pinch to; nip.
verb (used without object)
-
twitches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twitched,
past participle, past
-
twitching
present participle
-
to move spasmodically or convulsively; jerk; jump.
-
to give a sharp, sudden pull; tug; pluck (usually followed byat ).
He constantly twitched at his collar.
-
to ache or hurt with a sharp, shooting pain; twinge.
That back tooth twitches a bit.
noun
-
twitches
plural
-
a quick, jerky movement of the body or of some part of it.
-
involuntary, spasmodic movement of a muscle; tic.
He gets a twitch in his left eye when he's nervous.
-
a short, sudden pull or tug; jerk.
-
a bodily or mental twinge, as of pain, conscience, etc.; pang.
-
a loop or noose placed over the muzzle of a horse and tightened by twisting a stick or handle to which it is attached, used as a restraining device during a painful operation.
Twitch
2
American
[twich]
/ twɪtʃ /
Trademark.
twitch
British
/ twɪtʃ /
verb
-
to move or cause to move in a jerky spasmodic way
-
(tr) to pull or draw (something) with a quick jerky movement
-
(intr) to hurt with a sharp spasmodic pain
-
rare (tr) to nip
noun
-
a sharp jerking movement
-
a mental or physical twinge
-
a sudden muscular spasm, esp one caused by a nervous condition Compare tic
-
a loop of cord used to control a horse by drawing it tight about its upper lip
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
twitchsimple
-
twitchessimple
-
have twitchedperfect
-
has twitchedperfect
-
am twitchingprogressive
-
are twitchingprogressive
-
is twitchingprogressive
-
have been twitchingperfect progressive
-
has been twitchingperfect progressive
Past
-
twitchedsimple
-
had twitchedperfect
-
was twitchingprogressive
-
were twitchingprogressive
-
had been twitchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twitch
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English twicchen (verb); akin to Old English twiccian “to pluck”; cognate with German zwicken “to pinch”
Explanation
To twitch is to make a very sudden, brief, unintentional movement. Your eye muscles might start to twitch when you're extremely tired. Back in the 12th century, instead of using the word twitch, you would've used to-twic-chen, which was defined as "pulling apart with a quick jerk." It stemmed from the Old English twiccian, "to pluck, gather, or catch hold of." Today, we use twitch as a noun too, to mean the jerky spasm itself: "She tried not to laugh, but he could see a twitch in her lip."
Vocabulary lists containing twitch
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:
Over time, this can cause loss of strength, increased scarring, fat buildup within muscle tissue, and a decline in fast twitch fibers, which support rapid and powerful movements.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
Her performance is a cross between an AA meeting and The Exorcist, as dancers in plastic chairs twitch and shake to the song's ever-changing tempo.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
For decades, encountering such a scene, I used to stop, then wait to see a leg twitch, a chest rise.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
“Even the smallest twitch is causing wild swings in all corners of the market,” he added.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
Many are very subtle: the merest tilt or twitch.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The Instagram play presaged a series of lucrative investments involving brand-name startups: Spotify, payments processor Stripe, online glasses retailer Warby Parker, Gillette disruptor Harry’s, Twitch and Reddit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
AFP this week spent several hours following Piker's live program on Twitch, where he streams daily to three million followers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Amazon and Twitch are not the first to start absorbing user data to build AI models as competition in the sector heats up.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The announcement on Wednesday confirmed that the technology giant, which took over Twitch in 2014, was using the platform's content for AI training, prompting widespread backlash from users.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It’s conceivable that Twitch will want to do some baking in the morning, but she might not.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Mice receiving 4e showed significantly fewer head twitches, which scientists use as a reliable indicator of psychedelic-like activity in rodents, than mice treated with psilocybin.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2026
By subconsciously mirroring even the subtlest twitches of expression and biological rhythms of other people, we can channel their thoughts and feelings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
There were cases of dementia, weight loss, unsteadiness, jerking movements and facial twitches.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
His nose twitches are as dramatic as an ingenue’s gasp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
Without taking his eyes from her, he twitches a little at the knee, then the shoulder, where a fly devils him.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
She had been struggling with an ankle injury and said she "twitched" her neck during podium training on Thursday.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
As the hours went on, Spiderman twitched less.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2023
As she listened to her girlfriend on the phone, Sophie began hyperventilating and sobbing in heaves; her hands and toes twitched.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2023
When they sat together for polite exchanges through translators, greeting each other as "dear friend", Mahler said Putin had slouched, twitched his leg, clenched his fist and looked at the floor, suggesting underlying agitation.
From Reuters ● Mar. 21, 2023
The children’s noses twitched in hope, but Penelope shook her head.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
It “often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing, or slurred speech,” the clinic said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Someone might have blepharospasms, a dystonia affecting the muscles around the eyes, which results in uncontrollable twitching and blinking.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
And the choreographer, Katie Spelman, does wonderful work, for instance expressing the nervous energy of the students with precise and funny twitching of their sneakers under their desks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
And right now, with the yield curve doing interpretive dance and credit spreads twitching like a politician’s eye during a deposition, banks have decided that the most profitable thing they can do is absolutely nothing.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025
Even in the shadow of the hood Taran could see the features of the enchantress moving and twitching in what he feared was impatience.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
