twister
Americannoun
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a person or thing that twists.
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Informal. a whirlwind or tornado.
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Chiefly British Informal. a deceitful, unscrupulous person.
noun
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a swindling or dishonest person
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a person or thing that twists, such as a device used in making ropes
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an informal name for tornado
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a ball moving with a twisting motion
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of twister
1475–85; 1895–1900 twister for def. 2; twist + -er 1
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.
It was as if a twister had hit the terminal.
From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026
Nearby residents described how “the storm roared and the house was shaking” when the twister spun through.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2025
But when a twister menaces their city, and Dad calls the boys while on the air, that goes viral and there’s actually a moral to the story.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
While a twister didn’t end up touching down in San Francisco, one did just south in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
Like a tongue twister, but all in one word.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
