twist

American  

[twist] / twɪst /

verb (used with object)

• twists,
  present (3rd person singular)
• twisted,
  past participle,  past
• twisting
  present participle

1. to combine, as two or more strands or threads, by winding together; intertwine.

2. to form by or as if by winding strands together.

   Several fibers were used to twist the rope.

3. to entwine (one thing) with another; interlace (something) with something else; interweave; plait.

4. to wind or coil (something) about something else; encircle; entwine; wreathe.

5. to alter in shape, as by turning the ends in opposite directions, so that parts previously in the same straight line and plane are located in a spiral curve.

   The sculptor twisted the form into an arabesque. He twisted his body around to look behind him.

6. to turn sharply or wrench out of place; sprain.

   He twisted his ankle.

7. to pull, tear, or break off by turning forcibly.

   He twisted the arm off the puppet.

   Synonyms:

   yank, wrest, wrench

8. to distort (the features) by tensing or contracting the facial muscles; contort.

   She twisted her face in a wry smile.

9. to distort the meaning or form of; pervert.

   He twisted my comment about to suit his own purpose.

10. to cause to become mentally or emotionally distorted; warp.

    The loss of his business twisted his whole outlook on life.

11. to form into a coil, knot, or the like by winding, rolling, etc..

    to twist the hair into a knot.

12. to bend tortuously.

13. to cause to move with a rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.

14. to turn (something) from one direction to another, as by rotating or revolving.

    I twisted my chair to face the window.

15. to combine or associate intimately.

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verb (used without object)

• twists,
  present (3rd person singular)
• twisted,
  past participle,  past
• twisting
  present participle

1. to be or become intertwined.

2. to wind or twine about something.

3. to writhe or squirm.

4. to take a spiral form or course; wind, curve, or bend.

5. to turn or rotate, as on an axis; revolve, as about something; spin.

6. to turn so as to face in another direction.

7. to turn, coil, or bend into a spiral shape.

8. to change shape under forcible turning or twisting.

9. to move with a progressive rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.

10. to dance the twist.

noun

• twists
  plural

1. a deviation in direction; curve; bend; turn.

2. the action of turning or rotating on an axis; rotary motion; spin.

3. anything formed by or as if by twisting or twining parts together.

4. the act or process of twining strands together, as in thread, yarn, or rope.

5. a twisting awry or askew.

6. distortion or perversion, as of meaning or form.

7. a peculiar attitude or bias; eccentric turn or bent of mind; eccentricity.

8. spiral disposition, arrangement, or form.

9. spiral movement or course.

10. an irregular bend; crook; kink.

11. a sudden, unanticipated change of course, as of events.

12. a treatment, method, idea, version, etc., especially one differing from that which preceded.

    The screenwriters gave the old plot a new twist.

13. the changing of the shape of anything by or as by turning the ends in opposite directions.

14. the stress causing this alteration; torque.

15. the resulting state.

16. a twisting or torsional action, force, or stress; torsion.

17. a strong, twisted silk thread, heavier than ordinary sewing silk, for working buttonholes and for other purposes.

18. the direction of twisting in weaving yarn; S twist or Z twist.

19. a loaf or roll of dough twisted and baked.

20. a strip of citrus peel that has been twisted and placed in a drink to add flavor.

21. a kind of tobacco manufactured in the form of a rope or thick cord.

22. a dance performed by couples and characterized by strongly rhythmic turns and twists of the arms, legs, and torso.

23. the degree of spiral formed by the grooves in a rifled firearm or cannon.

24. Gymnastics, Diving. a full rotation of the body about the vertical axis.

25. a wrench.

idioms

1. twist one's arm, to coerce.

   I didn't want to go, but he twisted my arm.

twist British  

/ twɪst /

verb

1. to cause (one end or part) to turn or (of one end or part) to turn in the opposite direction from another; coil or spin

2. to distort or be distorted; change in shape

3. to wind or cause to wind; twine, coil, or intertwine

   to twist flowers into a wreath

4. to force or be forced out of the natural form or position

   to twist one's ankle

5. (usually passive) to change or cause to change for the worse in character, meaning, etc; pervert

   his ideas are twisted

   she twisted the statement

6. to revolve or cause to revolve; rotate

7. (tr) to wrench with a turning action

   to twist something from someone's grasp

8. (intr) to follow a winding course

9. (intr) to squirm, as with pain

10. (intr) to dance the twist

11. informal (tr) to cheat; swindle

12. to persuade or coerce someone

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noun

1. the act or an instance of twisting

2. something formed by or as if by twisting

   a twist of hair

3. a decisive change of direction, aim, meaning, or character

4. (in a novel, play, etc) an unexpected event, revelation, or other development

5. a bend

   a twist in the road

6. a distortion of the original or natural shape or form

7. a jerky pull, wrench, or turn

8. a strange personal characteristic, esp a bad one

9. a confused mess, tangle, or knot made by twisting

10. a twisted thread used in sewing where extra strength is needed

11. (in weaving) a specified direction of twisting the yarn

12. a modern dance popular in the 1960s, in which couples vigorously twist the hips in time to rhythmic music

13. a bread loaf or roll made of one or more pieces of twisted dough

14. a thin sliver of peel from a lemon, lime, etc, twisted and added to a drink

15. 1. a cigar made by twisting three cigars around one another

    2. chewing tobacco made in the form of a roll by twisting the leaves together

16. physics torsional deformation or shear stress or strain

17. sport spin given to a ball in various games, esp baseball

18. the extent to which the grooves in the bore of a rifled firearm are spiralled

19. slang mad; eccentric

Synonym Usage

See turn.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• twistability
  noun
• overtwist
  verb
• retwist
  verb
• twistable
  adjective
• twisted
  adjective
• twisting
  adjective
• twisty
  adjective
• untwistable
  adjective
• twistingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• twists
  plural

Participles

• twisting
  present
• twisted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• twist
  simple
• twists
  simple
• have twisted
  perfect
• has twisted
  perfect
• am twisting
  progressive
• are twisting
  progressive
• is twisting
  progressive
• have been twisting
  perfect progressive
• has been twisting
  perfect progressive

Past

• twisted
  simple
• had twisted
  perfect
• was twisting
  progressive
• were twisting
  progressive
• had been twisting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will twist
  simple
• will have twisted
  perfect
• will be twisting
  progressive
• will have been twisting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of twist

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English twisten “to divide,” derivative of twist “divided object, rope” (compare Old English -twist in candel-twist “pair of snuffers”); cognate with Dutch twisten “to quarrel,” German Zwist “a quarrel.” See twi-

Explanation

When you twist something, you turn it in a different direction. You might twist off a bottle cap, or you might even twist the plot of a story you are writing. A kite's tail twists in the wind, curling around itself, and a baker twists a piece of dough into a pretzel shape. You can also twist out of someone's grasp (to escape your godmother's cheek pinching), or twist your ankle hurrying away. As a noun, twist means a bent and curved shape, like the twist of a curl or a twist of soft serve ice cream. In a book or movie plot, a twist is a shocking development.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twist twists twisted twisting

There’s wisdom and depth to the film’s themes of growing old, dashed dreams and the magic of rediscovery, plus a deliciously ironic final twist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

James Fleming’s wedding toast came with a twist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Sample a twist on dinner and drinks: Would you try a mojito with gazpacho or a martini with pho?

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

There is an interesting twist that applies to my wife and me.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Tonight, memories of Gram twist and whirl in my mind.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

During the most recent UK series, producers tried to get hearts racing, and TikTok numbers up, by introducing some new twists.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

While this season is advertised as “for the fans,” you don’t need to be a “Survivor” expert to enjoy the strategic gameplay, backstabbing and twists in this historic TV competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Ride or Die,” for all its fanciful twists, ultimately has more realistic counsel for all the WOACAs watching: Bank on yourself and your extensively earned skills.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

The story of how Wrobleski got there includes plenty of twists and turns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Before the officer can lead him across the street, he twists around to face me.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

An unbreakable high school cheerleader, she embraced the role of hero, facing pushback from a shadowy government group, serial killers and a twisted family dynamic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The path to enlightenment can be long and twisted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

It is the Sun's magnetic field being twisted and moved by the motion of hot gas.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

He added that teams often had to "dig through concrete and twisted steel with their bare hands".

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Duane twisted his neck around, following Magic’s sudden departure, watching the whole unexpected episode unravel before his eyes in slow motion.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Prof Ramesh says a CME occurs when these twisting, looping lines - which resemble braided hair - rupture, throwing out massive clouds of magnetised plasma and gas in space.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Crying in a suit and tie,” she warbles, referring to her onstage look from a few years ago, then twisting the image into a joke with “But you should see the other guy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Once active sunspot regions move within 15 degrees of the equator, that twisting mechanism weakens and the main driver of extreme space weather switches off.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Christian Pulisic came off in the 59th minute after twisting his right ankle — leaving this World Cup without a goal in the four matches he appeared.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

There were dozens of them, shaped like curling arrows and twisting roots.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• coil
• contort
• screw
• spiral
• sprain
• swivel
• twirl
• weave
• wiggle
• wrap
• wrench
• wriggle