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:
For decades, encountering such a scene, I used to stop, then wait to see a leg twitch, a chest rise.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
As you might guess about someone who topped Michael B. Jordan, Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio at the Baftas, Mr. Aramayo is astonishing, giving an intensely committed performance of every twitch, shout and click.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Over time, their muscles developed more slow twitch fibers, which are linked to greater endurance.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026
"Every time he gets an opportunity it's quick twitch and ready to go. I've never seen a guy who prepares himself every day like he's gonna start and play 48 minutes."
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
I felt that twitch of anger and aggressively wiped at my nose.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
AFP this week spent several hours following Piker's live program on Twitch, where he streams daily to three million followers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Roehampton requires minimum rankings in major games for the scholarship, but will consider applications from those close to the threshold who meet other criteria, such as having large followings on streaming platforms like Twitch.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Amazon and Twitch are not the first to start absorbing user data to build AI models as competition in the sector heats up.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Twitch appointed former Pinterest and Google executive Christine Cassis as chief marketing officer, filling a position that had been open since Rachel Delphin left for Block in January.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, Magic had arrived just outside the burrow belonging to Major Puff and Twitch.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
“There were moments, there were twitches, there were things — I thought I was having pinched nerves in my neck, and they were quite frequent,” Andrews said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
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
By subconsciously mirroring even the subtlest twitches of expression and biological rhythms of other people, we can channel their thoughts and feelings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
There were cases of dementia, weight loss, unsteadiness, jerking movements and facial twitches.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
Every now and then his right leg twitches.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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
When they sat together for polite exchanges through translators, greeting each other as "dear friend", Mahler said Putin had slouched, twitched his leg, clenched his fist and looked at the floor, suggesting underlying agitation.
From Reuters ● Mar. 21, 2023
Red dug her heel into my foot, but her granny’s mouth twitched into half a smile.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Dubois - twitching his shoulders, stretching his neck and constantly fidgeting - insisted the "talking was done", while Wardley rolled his eyes and smiled beside him.
From BBC ● May 8, 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
That left the fingers twitching fruitlessly, but even a failed attempt creates data that will be used in training.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
She was shrieking now, her hand for a moment twitching toward her hair, as if to let it down.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
