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:
And a deceptively familiar face will replace Rep. Troy Nehls – that of his identical twin brother, Trever Nehls, who served in the U.S.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
The achievement was even recognized by Guinness World Records, which presented a commemorative plaque to Perseverance's engineering twin on Earth.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
House seat being vacated by his twin brother, Troy, tried bluntness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It became renowned for the quality of its games and in the late 2000s had twin successes with the Mass Effect trilogy and several Dragon Age games.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Now her job was to instruct the eldest children of the Babushkinov household: twelve-year-old Veronika and the eight-year-old twin boys, Boris and Constantin.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The council member added that she was taking a brief pause in the middle of the day to go to an 11th birthday bowling party for her twins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
Speaking of twins, Kia sent me two, nearly identical Tellurides, one with a hybrid-assisted 2.5-liter under the hood; the other powered by a non-hybrid version of the same engine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Virzi, a one-time doctoral candidate at UC San Diego studying clinical psychology, traveled to Pittsburgh in June 2024 to meet the twins and spend time with her best friend’s growing family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
From the day they were born, just seven weeks ago, twins Raghad Hassan and her brother Raad have been battling for survival.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Mom sent Jess and the twins to get cleaned up.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
Jet engines, factories and even executives have been twinned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
One of his own last posts was in memoriam of David Thomas, leader of the avant-garde Pere Ubu, twinned with “kindred spirit” Chicago Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael, who died the same day.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 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
Our lives were a series of actions twinned with “just in case” reactions.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
But all those efforts at twinning are a bit futile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
The twinning samples were sent off to two different labs, but the results came back the same - no traces of gold could be found.
From BBC ● May 18, 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
His spirit, depleted by his own depredations, pulsed too fast through his veins, twinning with a whirr and discordant jangle of...of disbelief crashing against evidence, producing a sensation of disfaith.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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