twig
1 Americannoun
-
a slender shoot of a tree or other plant.
-
a small offshoot from a branch or stem.
-
a small, dry, woody piece fallen from a branch.
a fire of twigs.
-
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)
-
twigs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twigged,
past participle, past
-
twigging
present participle
noun
verb
-
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
-
have twiggedperfect
-
has twiggedperfect
-
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:
Soon enough, trees everywhere were showing blotchy, mottled, yellowed leaves and suffering from twig dieback and sparse foliage.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
I’m so curious with the twig and the hair and the blood and the bell — Is that a thing?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 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 would often climb it to scan the surroundings and sit there chewing on a twig.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
The “Odyssey” actor filed her petition a day after LaBeouf’s ex-girlfriend FKA twigs brought her latest lawsuit against the former Disney Channel star to a close.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
I found myself surprisingly moved by the meditative activities and programming, even if it felt silly at first to be constructing a mandala with leaves and twigs in the middle of a workweek.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Bird nests, for example, rely on a network of interwoven twigs and fibers to maintain their structure.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 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
She shook my hand, and her thin cool fingers felt like twigs that could be snapped in a minute.
From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant
However, he admitted he - along with scientists and advisers - should have "twigged" the seriousness posed by the disease earlier than he did.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 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
“Everyone had their own moment when they first twigged that this wasn’t like the BBC,” he says.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 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
He began at once, following the example of the birds about him, to prepare for the coming event; "twigging" as Joan called it to herself, amusedly.
From Why Joan? by Eleanor Mercein Kelly
He and Bob knew they would be in for a certain amount of twigging because of their defeat, but he knew how to take it in good part.
From The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards by Gerald Breckenridge
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
You are right," said Smith, "I—was twigging you again.
From Captivating Mary Carstairs by Raymond Moreau Crosby
You couldn't talk friendly to him without twigging that.
From Mrs. Thompson A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell
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