twist
noun · verb
Simple meaning
To turn or coil something into a different shape.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
twistIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtwɪst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Anything twisted, or the act of twisting.
A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together.
A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc.
preceded by definite article
A modern dance popular in Western culture in the late 1950s and 1960s, based on rotating the hips repeatedly from side to side. See Twist (dance) on Wikipedia for more details.
An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc.
A roll or baton of baked dough or pastry in a twisted shape.
verb
To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force.
To join together by twining one part around another.
To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve.
To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts.
Form into a spiral shape
reflexive
To wind into; to insinuate.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Anything twisted, or the act of twisting.
Used this way, twist is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use twist
- “They liked to dance the twist.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean.
A localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A bit or drill having deep helical grooves.
Vigorous deciduous European treelike shrub common along waysides.
Practice sophistry.
A bit or drill having deep helical grooves.
Persuasion by the use of direct personal pressure.
An expression that is difficult to articulate clearly.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.