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'twas

American  
[twuhz, twoz, twuhz] / twʌz, twɒz, twəz /
  1. contraction of it was.


'twas British  
/ twɒz, twəz /

contraction

  1. it was

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

See contraction.

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.

A male voice in the cast parried with a hint of old-world courtliness: “Yet ’twas well sung, my friend!”

From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2023

Various courts have since let us know that nope, 'twas merely a small crick against the doomsday direction in which we were previously heading.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2021

When I made the trip to Victoria in search of holiday entertainment, ’twas still more than 50 nights before Christmas and 19 days before post-turkey antacids started flying off the shelves.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2018

But she said, “I misunderstood; ’twas not romantic lore: The word, she spoke was fourrier, defined as “comes before.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 5, 2018

Her lips were curved, like the smile of a cat, and something got into me — maybe ’twas the devil.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

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