twin

TWIN/twɪn/

Pluraltwins

Verbtwins, twinning, twinned

13 meanings of twin

Practice

1
paired siblingnouncountable
One of two offspring who developed in the same womb and were born at the same birth.
His twin studied medicine while he went into music.
Identical twins share nearly the same genetic makeup.
2
pairedadjective
Occurring as a matching pair; double or dual.
The cathedral's twin spires dominate the city skyline.
The system uses twin pumps so one can take over if the other fails.
UsageGoes before a noun: twin engines. Twin beds are usually two matching single beds in one room.
Similardouble, dual, matching, paired, identical
Oppositesingle
3
of a birth pairadjective
Being one of a pair of siblings born together at the same birth.
The twin daughters were raised in different countries after the divorce.
Their twin sons enrolled in the same college but chose rival majors.
4
similar onenouncountable
One of two objects or entities that closely resemble or are closely related to each other.
Scientists hunt for a planetary twin of Earth orbiting another star.
The two cottages are near twins, differing only in the color of their doors.
Similarcounterpart, double, duplicate, match, replica
5
small bednounUScountable
A mattress in the smallest standard size, or a bed built to take one such mattress.
The dorm room came furnished with two twins and a single desk.
We replaced the old twin with a larger bed when he turned twelve.
UsageDistinguish a twin bed, for one person, from a twin room, which has two separate beds.
Similarsingle
Note
An American bed size: in the US a twin is the mattress, or the frame built for it, and dorm rooms and children's rooms are furnished with twins. Keep it apart from the hotel room with two beds. A twin in a dorm is one bed, while a twin booked through a travel agent is a room holding two.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
US dorm rooms are furnished with twin beds. housing.ucdavis.edu
Twin beds are used in children's rooms. ikea.com
6
two-bed roomnouncountable
A room in a hotel or guesthouse furnished with two separate beds.
The travel agent reserved a twin overlooking the harbor.
Their package included three nights in a twin with breakfast.
UsageCompare a double, with one bed for two: we booked a twin, not a double.
7
link townsverbpassivetransitive or intransitive
To join or unite; to form official links between two places, now especially towns in different countries; to pair with.
The two cities decided to twin in order to share cultural programs.
Oxford is twinned with several European towns.
Similarpair, link, partner, unite, couple
Note
Coventry twinned with Dresden as a gesture of reconciliation, since both cities had been heavily bombed. The older, wider sense of joining still shows in Tennyson's The Princess: "Together, twinned as horse's ear and eye."

Less common meanings

8
buddynounslangcountable
A friendly term used to address someone, typically a man, marking closeness or camaraderie.
Appreciate you showing up for me today, twin.
Hold up, twin, let me grab my jacket.
Similarbro, buddy, fam, dude
Note
Slang from African-American Vernacular English, used in direct address among friends, mostly men: "Hold up, twin." It claims closeness and solidarity, not kinship, and nobody hearing it assumes a shared birthday.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The friendly address term is identified as African-American Vernacular slang. en.wiktionary.org
9
wear matchingverbintransitive
To be a twin to, or closely resemble, someone or something; to match, for example by dressing alike or being well suited.
My sister and I were twinning in matching yellow raincoats.
My sister and I like to twin in matching denim jackets on the first day of school.
UsageIn casual talk about matching outfits, usually in the progressive (be twinning): we're twinning today.
Similarmatch
Note
The playful, intransitive use: two people are twinning when they turn up dressed alike, as in Lisa Mullarkey's Paisley (2019): "We're totally twinning today!" More soberly, two things can twin when they suit each other as a pair.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Lisa Mullarkey wrote Paisley. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted words occur in Paisley; the character speaking is Zoey. en.wiktionary.org
10
have two babiesverbintransitive
To bring forth two offspring in a single birth.
Among sheep, certain breeds twin far more often than others.
The doe twinned, surprising the farmer who expected a single fawn.
Note
A farmer's and biologist's verb: ewes and does twin. In Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), a young shepherd reports that "two more ewes have twinned." The gerund twinning names the phenomenon itself, as when George Christopher Williams wrote in 1992 that twinning is abnormal in all higher primates.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Ewes and does can give birth to twins. education.gov.gy
Thomas Hardy wrote Far from the Madding Crowd, first published in 1874. commons.wikimedia.org
The quotation occurs in the novel and is spoken by a young shepherd. gutenberg.org
Williams's cited book was published in 1992. en.wikipedia.org
Williams wrote that twinning is abnormal in all higher primates. en.wiktionary.org
11
two-engine planenouncountable
An aircraft powered by two engines.
The charter company operates a fleet of turboprop twins.
She earned the rating to fly a twin last summer.
Note
Aviation shorthand for a twin-engine aircraft: pilots fly a twin, earn a rating for one, and speak of a fleet of turboprop twins. The second engine is there for redundancy, because the aircraft can stay under control if one fails. The word covers everything from small piston machines to large transport airliners.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Two engines provide redundancy that can offer a safety advantage. faasafety.gov
Controlled flight after one engine fails is possible, subject to appropriate airspeed and pilot response. en.wikipedia.org
12
noun
A composite crystal of two or more intergrown parts of the same substance, whose orientations are related by a definite symmetry operation such as reflection, rotation, or inversion.
13
verb
(archaic or Scottish) To separate or part; to divide one thing from another, or to go apart and leave.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of twin apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 4–11

From Middle English twinne, from Old English ġetwin ('twin', noun) and twinn ('double, two-fold', adjective), from Proto-Germanic *twinjaz ('two each') and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwóh₁ ('two'). It is related to German Zwilling, Dutch tweeling, and Swedish tvilling, all meaning 'twin'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Twin comes from Middle English twinne. en.wiktionary.org
Its Old English antecedents include the noun ġetwin meaning 'twin' and the adjective twinn meaning 'double, two-fold'. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry includes Proto-Germanic *twinjaz, glossed 'two each'. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ meaning 'two'. en.wiktionary.org
German Zwilling, Dutch tweeling, and Swedish tvilling are related to twin and mean 'twin'. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2–3

From Middle English, from the Old English adjective twin, twinn ('twin; double'), from Proto-Germanic *twīhnaz ('occurring in a pair; twofold') and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *dwóh₁ ('two'). It is related to Icelandic tvennur ('double') and Gothic tweihnai ('two each').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

The adjective descends through Middle English from Old English twin, twinn, meaning 'twin; double'. en.wiktionary.org
The Proto-Germanic ancestor is reconstructed as *twīhnaz, meaning 'occurring in a pair; twofold'. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate ancestor is Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁, meaning 'two'. en.wiktionary.org
Icelandic tvennur, glossed 'double', is related. en.wiktionary.org
Gothic tweihnai, meaning 'two each', is related. en.wiktionary.org