twister

[ twis-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that twists.
2. Informal. a whirlwind or tornado.
3. Chiefly British Informal. a deceitful, unscrupulous person.

twister

/ ˈtwɪstə /

noun

1. a swindling or dishonest person
2. a person or thing that twists, such as a device used in making ropes
3. See tornado
   an informal name for tornado
4. a ball moving with a twisting motion

Word History and Origins

Origin of twister¹

1475–85; 1895–1900 twister fordef 2; twist + -er ¹

Example Sentences

In southern New Jersey, the Weather Service was investigating whether any twisters touched down after radar detected the possibility of several.

From Washington Post

Before that event, only two days in the modern record since 1950 have produced twisters inside Washington.

From Washington Post

The tornado in Charles Town and twister in Frederick County were part of a small but long-lived complex of storms tracking to the northeast Monday evening.

From Washington Post

In northeast West Virginia, a twister rated EF1 on the 0 to 5 scale for tornado intensity, downed trees and wires and damaged structures in Ranson, which is just north of Charles Town.

From Washington Post

Spann tweeted his thanks Thursday evening to “all of you who have reached out to me,” saying his wife was there when the twister hit but went unscathed inside their in-home shelter.

From Washington Post

The F4 twister cut a long swath of destruction that crossed just four blocks from my house.

From The Daily Beast

The big twister on Monday had no sooner moved on than the paramedics were there.

From The Daily Beast

The other injuries from this latest twister largely seemed to come from flying debris.

From The Daily Beast

When the twister tore through Moore, Mona Thomas lost everything.

From The Daily Beast

If that is so, then the twister was a measure of the forces we are playing with.

From The Daily Beast

"Yuh couldn't ride Twister, yuh know yuh couldn't," Pink objected gently.

From Project Gutenberg

Jack was fully qualified to assume this task, and it was seldom they were ever able to stump him with a twister.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, Jviii does not even revolve in a closed orbit; its path is an open twister of unreturning turns.

From Project Gutenberg

"Yes, I reckon it will be more exciting than that cyclone twister that came near wafting us away," Jim said.

From Project Gutenberg

And the time-honoured rhyme, "When a twister a twisting," etc., has been traced back by Halliwell to a collection of 1674.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cyclone
• tornado
• whirlwind