twitch
verb (used with object)
to tug or pull at with a quick, short movement; pluck.
twitch
1 American
[twich]
/ twɪtʃ /
verb (used with object)
-
twitches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twitched,
past participle, past
-
twitching
present participle
-
to tug or pull at with a quick, short movement; pluck.
She twitched him by the sleeve.
-
to jerk rapidly.
The rider twitched the reins a couple of times.
-
to move (a part of the body) with a sudden, jerking motion.
-
to pinch or pull at sharply and painfully; give a smarting pinch to; nip.
verb (used without object)
-
twitches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twitched,
past participle, past
-
twitching
present participle
-
to move spasmodically or convulsively; jerk; jump.
-
to give a sharp, sudden pull; tug; pluck (usually followed byat ).
He constantly twitched at his collar.
-
to ache or hurt with a sharp, shooting pain; twinge.
That back tooth twitches a bit.
noun
-
twitches
plural
-
a quick, jerky movement of the body or of some part of it.
-
involuntary, spasmodic movement of a muscle; tic.
He gets a twitch in his left eye when he's nervous.
-
a short, sudden pull or tug; jerk.
-
a bodily or mental twinge, as of pain, conscience, etc.; pang.
-
a loop or noose placed over the muzzle of a horse and tightened by twisting a stick or handle to which it is attached, used as a restraining device during a painful operation.
Twitch
2
American
[twich]
/ twɪtʃ /
Trademark.
twitch
British
/ twɪtʃ /
verb
-
to move or cause to move in a jerky spasmodic way
-
(tr) to pull or draw (something) with a quick jerky movement
-
(intr) to hurt with a sharp spasmodic pain
-
rare (tr) to nip
noun
-
a sharp jerking movement
-
a mental or physical twinge
-
a sudden muscular spasm, esp one caused by a nervous condition Compare tic
-
a loop of cord used to control a horse by drawing it tight about its upper lip
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
twitchsimple
-
twitchessimple
-
have twitchedperfect
-
has twitchedperfect
-
am twitchingprogressive
-
are twitchingprogressive
-
is twitchingprogressive
-
have been twitchingperfect progressive
-
has been twitchingperfect progressive
Past
-
twitchedsimple
-
had twitchedperfect
-
was twitchingprogressive
-
were twitchingprogressive
-
had been twitchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twitch
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English twicchen (verb); akin to Old English twiccian “to pluck”; cognate with German zwicken “to pinch”
Explanation
To twitch is to make a very sudden, brief, unintentional movement. Your eye muscles might start to twitch when you're extremely tired. Back in the 12th century, instead of using the word twitch, you would've used to-twic-chen, which was defined as "pulling apart with a quick jerk." It stemmed from the Old English twiccian, "to pluck, gather, or catch hold of." Today, we use twitch as a noun too, to mean the jerky spasm itself: "She tried not to laugh, but he could see a twitch in her lip."
Vocabulary lists containing twitch
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.
See Examples For:
Muscles – women have more oxygen-efficient muscle fibres, known as "slow twitch", that are better suited for endurance activities.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
While many anglers will gently hover and twitch the urchin as a finesse-style bait, the young bass phenom and former Journal subject Dylan Quilatan has been fishing the urchin with a more aggressive approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Over time, their muscles developed more slow twitch fibers, which are linked to greater endurance.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026
He barely allows the petrified Boo to twitch, yet somehow, we catch a glimpse of the qualities Duvall the actor will go on to reveal: dangerous and vulnerable, mythic and man-sized, electrifyingly watchable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
I felt that twitch of anger and aggressively wiped at my nose.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
Chipotle’s latest tie-in with a creator is a bowl with Twitch streamer Pokimane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the investors’ group includes San Francisco-based brothers Patrick and John Collison, who founded the tech company Stripe; venture capitalist Robin Chan; and Twitch co-founder Justin Kan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
But livestreaming every second on TikTok or Twitch crosses the line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
It claims Twitch breached its contract with users by using that content as AI training data for Amazon's models without obtaining their permission.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
“That is, if you actually are Duane and not a great black-backed gull in disguise, as Major Puff believes,” Twitch added.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Mice receiving 4e showed significantly fewer head twitches, which scientists use as a reliable indicator of psychedelic-like activity in rodents, than mice treated with psilocybin.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2026
There were cases of dementia, weight loss, unsteadiness, jerking movements and facial twitches.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
At 7 inches tall, this hare pitcher, hand painted one strand of fur at a time, is so lifelike it nearly twitches its nose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
His nose twitches are as dramatic as an ingenue’s gasp.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
Seriously, who curses you with their dying breath and says: I hope your eye twitches!
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
As the hours went on, Spiderman twitched less.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2023
As she listened to her girlfriend on the phone, Sophie began hyperventilating and sobbing in heaves; her hands and toes twitched.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2023
The rear twitched through the long right-hander at Turn Seven; Leclerc caught it but could not stop the car nosing into the barriers.
From BBC ● May 5, 2023
Before he could fire, however, raven lookouts on nearby railings twitched with alarm, signaling the others to fly elsewhere on the grounds for breakfast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
The kit’s nose twitched as he snuffed around.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
“I’ve watched hundreds of videos get trashed because Roco’s eye was twitching wrong or his jaw wasn’t clenching or the camera didn’t go all the way to the right,” said Alimzhanov.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Someone might have blepharospasms, a dystonia affecting the muscles around the eyes, which results in uncontrollable twitching and blinking.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
And right now, with the yield curve doing interpretive dance and credit spreads twitching like a politician’s eye during a deposition, banks have decided that the most profitable thing they can do is absolutely nothing.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025
Fifteen minutes after Celtic issued the news of Brendan Rodgers' shock resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph, 134-word statement, the howitzer landed, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in apparent fury.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
Glancing over at my parents, I can see my dad’s dimple twitching, which means he’s trying not to laugh, and my mom is smiling widely.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
