twist (twɪst
)
Definitions
verb
- to cause (one end or part) to turn or (of one end or part) to turn in the opposite direction from another; coil or spin
- to distort or be distorted; change in shape
- to wind or cause to wind; twine, coil, or intertwine ⇒
to twist flowers into a wreath
- to force or be forced out of the natural form or position ⇒
to twist one's ankle
- (usually passive) to change or cause to change for the worse in character, meaning, etc; pervert ⇒
his ideas are twisted
she twisted the statement
- to revolve or cause to revolve; rotate
- (tr) to wrench with a turning action ⇒
to twist something from someone's grasp
- (intr) to follow a winding course
- (intr) to squirm, as with pain
- (intr) to dance the twist
- (tr) British informal to cheat; swindle
- See twist someone's arm
noun
- the act or an instance of twisting
- something formed by or as if by twisting ⇒
a twist of hair
- a decisive change of direction, aim, meaning, or character
- (in a novel, play, etc) an unexpected event, revelation, or other development
- a bend ⇒
a twist in the road
- a distortion of the original or natural shape or form
- a jerky pull, wrench, or turn
- a strange personal characteristic, esp a bad one
- a confused mess, tangle, or knot made by twisting
- a twisted thread used in sewing where extra strength is needed
- (in weaving) a specified direction of twisting the yarn
- See the twist
- a bread loaf or roll made of one or more pieces of twisted dough
- a thin sliver of peel from a lemon, lime, etc, twisted and added to a drink
- a cigar made by twisting three cigars around one another
- chewing tobacco made in the form of a roll by twisting the leaves together
- physics torsional deformation or shear stress or strain
- sport mainly US Canadian spin given to a ball in various games, esp baseball
- the extent to which the grooves in the bore of a rifled firearm are spiralled
- See round the twist
Alternative Forms
ˈtwistable adjective ˌtwistaˈbility noun ˈtwisted adjective ˈtwisting adjective ˈtwisty adjectiveWord Origin
Old English; related to German dialect Zwist a quarrel, Dutch twisten to quarrelSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
trait,
fault,
defect,
peculiarity,
bent,
characteristic,
flaw,
deviation,
quirk,
eccentricity,
oddity,
aberration,
imperfection,
kink,
foible,
idiosyncrasy,
proclivity,
crotchet,
Translations
- British English:
twist
If you twist something, you turn it to make a spiral shape, for example by turning the two ends of it in opposite directions.Her hands began to twist the handles of the bag.twɪst VERB Her hands began to twist the handles of the bag.
- Spanish:
retorcer
v
- French:
vriller
vt
- German:
drehen
v
- Chinese: 扭曲 vt
- Arabic: يَلْوي vt
- Portuguese: torcer vt
- Russian: крутить vt
- Croatian: uvrnuti v
- Czech: zakroutit vt kroutit
- Danish: sno v
- Dutch: samendraaien vt
- Finnish: kieputtaa v
- Greek: συστρέφω v
- Italian: torcere v
- Japanese: ねじる v
- Korean: ...을 비틀다 vt
- Norwegian: vri v
- Polish: przekręcić vt przekręcać
- Brazilian Portuguese: torcer vt
- European Spanish:
retorcer
v
- Swedish: vrida vt
- Thai: บิดเป็นเกลียว vi
- Turkish: bükmek vt
- Vietnamese: xoắn v
Usage examples
I know how they can twist your words, make something out of nothing.
, AFTERMATH (2001)They are also trying to twist the individual threads together into a tougher rope.
New Scientist (2004)Proteins fold and twist themselves into complex structures, each of them unique.
Globe and Mail (2003)In fact, right up to the bombshell plot twist , everyone probably did.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Another Cuirassier, fallen on his back, jerked to twist his huge weight of steel out of the cloying mud.
, Sharpe's Waterloo (1991)