twister

[ twis-ter ]

/ ˈtwɪs tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR twister ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that twists.

Informal. a whirlwind or tornado.

Chiefly British Informal. a deceitful, unscrupulous person.

RELATED WORDS

tornado, cyclone, whirlwind, typhoon

Nearby words

Origin of twister

1475–85; 1895–1900 for def 2; twist + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for twister

When the twister tore through Moore, Mona Thomas lost everything.
The Twister Stole My Pet: How Cats, Dogs, and a Donkey Survived Oklahoma|Christine Pelisek|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If that is so, then the twister was a measure of the forces we are playing with.
Oklahoma Tornado Devastation: What the Twister Left Behind|Michael Daly|May 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It can shelter 3,000 people, if they can get there before a twister strikes.
More Tornado Shelters? Not Necessarily|David Cay Johnston|May 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The 1999 twister caused the fastest wind speed ever recorded on Earth up to that time: 318 miles per hour.
Moore, Oklahoma, May Be the Tornado Capital of America|Eliza Shapiro|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The twister was recorded as a F4 tornado, the second-highest intensity on the Fujita scale.
Moore, Oklahoma, May Be the Tornado Capital of America|Eliza Shapiro|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A second later a "twister" from the hills hit us, and adroitly he headed her into it.
Frenzied Finance|Thomas W. Lawson
You looked out of the window and told the teacher that the twister was going north of us, and would kill somebody else.
The Brown Mouse|Herbert Quick
"I was on a barkentine, trading between New York and Brazil once, when we got hit by a twister," said a machinist's mate.
The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service|Frank Gee Patchin
The thought suddenly occurred to him that the best way to meet the twister would be head-on.
The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service|Frank Gee Patchin
Jack was fully qualified to assume this task, and it was seldom they were ever able to stump him with a twister.
Motor Boat Boys Down the Danube|Louis Arundel

British Dictionary definitions for twister

twister

/ (ˈtwɪstə) /

noun

British a swindling or dishonest person

a person or thing that twists, such as a device used in making ropes

US and Canadian an informal name for tornado

a ball moving with a twisting motion

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 twister