twist

Plural: twists

Noun

• an unforeseen development
• an interpretation of a text or action
• any clever maneuver
• the act of rotating rapidly
  • "it broke off after much twisting"
• a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments
• a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is pulled tight
• a circular segment of a curve
• a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind resulting when the current of a fluid doubles back on itself
• a jerky pulling movement
• a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
• social dancing in which couples vigorously twist their hips and arms in time to the music; was popular in the 1960s
  • "they liked to dance the twist"
• the act of winding or twisting
• turning or twisting around (in place)
  • "with a quick twist of his head he surveyed the room"
• A twisting force.
• Anything twisted, or the act of twisting.
• The form given in twisting.
• The degree of stress or strain when twisted.
• A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together.
• A sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc.
• A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc.
• A distortion to the meaning of a passage or word.
• An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc.
• 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.
• A rotation of the body when diving.
• A sprain, especially to the ankle.
• A twig.
• A girl, a woman.
• A roll or baton of baked dough or pastry in a twisted shape.
• A small roll of tobacco.
• A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together.
• The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon.
• A beverage made of brandy and gin.
• A strong individual tendency or bent; inclination.
• An appetite for food.
• Ellipsis of hair twist.

Verb

Verb Forms: twisted, twisting, twists

• To combine by winding together or contort.
• to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
• cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form
  • "twist the dough into a braid"
• turn in the opposite direction
  • "twist one's head"
• form into a spiral shape
  • "The cord is all twisted"
• form into twists
  • "Twist the strips of dough"
• extend in curves and turns
  • "the path twisted through the forest"
• do the twist
• twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
• practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
  • "Don't twist my words"
• twist suddenly so as to sprain
  • "The wrestler twisted his shoulder"
• 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.
• To wind into; to insinuate.
• To turn a knob etc.
• To distort or change the truth or meaning of words when repeating.
• To form a twist (in any of the above noun meanings).
• To injure (a body part) by bending it in the wrong direction.
• To wind; to follow a bendy or wavy course; to have many bends.
• To cause to rotate.
• To dance the twist (a type of dance characterised by twisting one's hips).
• To coax.
• In the game of blackjack (pontoon or twenty-one), to be dealt another card.

Examples

• a twist toward fanaticism
• Avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
• Damascus twist
• He managed to TWIST his letters into a bingo, securing a massive point lead.
• I'm all agog at the new twist to the royal scandal.

Synonyms

bend, braid, construction, convolute, crook, curve, deform, device, distort, eddy, flex, gimmick, kink, pervert, plait, pull, rick, sophisticate, spin, sprain, squirm, tress, turn, turn of events, twine, twirl, twist around, twisting, whirl, wind, winding, worm, wrench, wrestle, wrick, wriggle, writhe, torque

Antonyms

unbend, untwist

Anagrams of twist