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twist

[twist]
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verb (used with object)
  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.
  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)
  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.
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noun
  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.
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Idioms
  1. twist one's arm, Informal. to coerce: I didn't want to go, but he twisted my arm.
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Origin of twist

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-
Related formstwist·a·ble, adjectivetwist·a·bil·i·ty, nountwist·ed·ly, adverbtwist·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·twist, verbre·twist, verbun·twist·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for twist on Thesaurus.com
7. wrench, wrest, yank. 32. See turn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for twist

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The other man had risen, his face purple from the twist at his throat.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The enamels were made of twist, the metals of gold and silver thread.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • “Far from it,” confessed the other, with a reluctance which seemed to twist his mouth dolorously.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • A pack can twist you as suddenly and expertly on your back as the best of wrestlers.

    The Forest

    Stewart Edward White

  • There was a ringing in our ears and Uncle Pete began to twist.

    Goodbye, Dead Man!

    Tom W. Harris

British Dictionary definitions for twist

twist

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 intertwineto twist flowers into a wreath
  4. to force or be forced out of the natural form or positionto twist one's ankle
  5. (usually passive) to change or cause to change for the worse in character, meaning, etc; perverthis ideas are twisted; she twisted the statement
  6. to revolve or cause to revolve; rotate
  7. (tr) to wrench with a turning actionto 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. (tr) British informal to cheat; swindle
  12. twist someone's arm 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 twistinga 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 benda 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. the twist 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
    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, mainly US and Canadian 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. round the twist British slang mad; eccentric
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Derived Formstwistable, adjectivetwistability, nountwisted, adjectivetwisting, adjectivetwisty, adjective

Word Origin

Old English; related to German dialect Zwist a quarrel, Dutch twisten to quarrel
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

Word Origin and History for twist

n.

mid-14c., "flat part of a hinge," probably from Old English -twist (in mæsttwist "mast rope, stay;" candeltwist "wick"), from Proto-Germanic *twis-, from root of two. Original senses suggest "dividing in two" (cf. cognate Old Norse tvistra "to divide, separate," Gothic twis- "in two, asunder," Dutch twist, German zwist "quarrel, discord," though these senes have no equivalent in English), but later ones are of "combining two into one," hence the original sense of the word may be "rope made of two strands."

Meaning "thread or cord composed of two or more fibers" is recorded from 1550s. Meaning "act or action of turning on an axis" is attested from 1570s. Sense of "beverage consisting of two or more liquors" is first attested c.1700. Meaning "thick cord of tobacco" is from 1791. Meaning "curled piece of lemon, etc., used to flavor a drink" is recorded from 1958. Sense of "unexpected plot development" is from 1941.

The popular rock 'n' roll dance craze is from 1961, but twist was used to describe popular dances in 1894 and again in the 1920s. To get one's knickers in a twist "be unduly agitated" is British slang first attested 1971.

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v.

early 14c. (implied in past tense form twaste), "to wring," from the source of twist (n.). Sense of "to spin two or more strands of yarn into thread" is attested from late 15c. Meaning "to move in a winding fashion" is recorded from 1630s. To twist the lion's tail was U.S. slang (1895) for "to provoke British feeling." Related: Twisted; twisting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper