# twist

Pronunciation: say "TWIST" /twɪst/

## Verb

1. To turn the ends of something, such as thread or rope, in opposite directions, often with force.
   - Simple: To turn the two ends of something like rope or thread in opposite directions.
   - _Spinners twist raw wool between their fingers to draw it into yarn._
   - _She twisted the soaked cloth until the dirty water dripped out._
2. To injure a body part, such as an ankle or wrist, by bending it in the wrong direction.
   - Simple: To hurt a part of your body, like an ankle, by bending it the wrong way.
   - _Dancers can twist a knee badly if they land off balance._
   - _She twisted her back lifting the heavy box of books._
6. To turn something such as a knob, dial, or cap, typically with the hand.
   - Simple: To turn something, like a knob or a cap, with your hand.
   - _Twist the dial until the oven reaches the right temperature._
   - _He twisted the doorknob slowly so no one inside would hear._
7. To cause something to rotate.
   - Simple: To make something spin or turn in circles.
   - _Twist the rod between your palms to start it spinning._
   - _The pitcher twists the ball at release to give it extra spin._
9. To wind or follow a curving, bending course; to have many bends.
   - Simple: To have many bends, or to follow a path with many turns.
   - _Narrow streets twist through the medieval quarter of the city._
   - _The trail twisted upward for another mile before reaching the ridge._
10. To repeat or report someone's words in a way that misrepresents their meaning or truth.
   - Simple: To change someone's words so they mean something different from what the person said.
   - _Politicians often twist an opponent's statement until it sounds like a confession._
   - _The senator accused the press of twisting his remarks about the budget._
14. To contort or writhe; to crook or coil spirally; to complicate.
   - Simple: To bend or turn into strange shapes, or to move by turning your body.
   - _The injured snake twisted violently across the hot sand._
   - _Steel girders can twist out of shape in the heat of a fire._
16. To join two or more strands or parts by twining them around one another.
   - Simple: To join two or more things by winding them around each other.
   - _Electricians twist the copper wires together before capping the connection._
   - _The ropemaker twisted three strands into a single sturdy line._
19. To dance the twist, rotating the hips repeatedly from side to side.
   - Simple: To do a dance where you turn your hips quickly from side to side.
   - _The whole crowd twisted to the live band until midnight._
   - _People would twist for hours when the craze first hit town._
24. To wind around or encircle something, or to unite parts by interweaving them.
   - Simple: To wind around something, or to join things by weaving them together.
   - _Ivy twisted itself around the iron railings of the balcony._
   - _Florists twist sprigs of evergreen into wreaths every December._
25. To shape or wind something into a coil, spiral, or similar wound form.
   - Simple: To make something into a wound or spiral shape.
   - _He twisted the wrapper ends to seal the candy._
   - _Bakers twist the dough into ropes before the final rise._
29. In the card game blackjack, also called pontoon or twenty-one, to be dealt an additional card.
   - Simple: To take another card from the dealer in a card game like blackjack.
   - _She decided to twist on fifteen, hoping for a six._
   - _He twisted twice and busted with twenty-four._

## Noun

3. An unexpected turn of events in a story, film, or other narrative.
   - Simple: A surprise in a story that changes what you expected to happen.
   - _Critics praised the novel's final twist as genuinely unforeseeable._
   - _The series ends every episode with a twist designed to pull viewers into the next one._
4. Anything coiled or wound around itself, or the act of coiling or winding something.
   - Simple: Something that is wound around itself, or the act of winding it.
   - _The bread came out of the oven in a golden twist._
   - _With a quick twist of her wrist, she freed the tangled fishing line._
5. A sudden bend, or a short series of bends, in a road, path, or similar route.
   - Simple: A sharp bend in a road or path.
   - _Drivers unfamiliar with the mountain highway often misjudge its final twist._
   - _The path follows a series of twists through the old quarter of the city._
8. A force that tends to turn or rotate an object.
   - Simple: A turning force, like the one you use to open a jar lid.
   - _The mechanic applied a sharp twist to loosen the rusted bolt._
   - _Strong gusts put a dangerous twist on the bridge cables._
11. A thin sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail or similar drink.
   - Simple: A small thin piece of lemon peel put in a drink.
   - _The bartender garnished the martini with a twist._
   - _Each glass arrived with a twist of peel curled over the rim._
12. A distortion of the meaning of a word or passage.
   - Simple: A change that makes words or a text mean something different from what was meant.
   - _The translation introduces a subtle twist that changes the poem's tone entirely._
   - _The lawyers argued that the contract's wording allowed no twist of its plain meaning._
13. A sprain, especially one affecting the ankle.
   - Simple: An injury you get when you bend a body part, like an ankle, the wrong way.
   - _The hiker limped back to camp with a painful twist in her ankle._
   - _An old twist from his rugby days still aches in cold weather._
15. A strong individual tendency or inclination of character or mind.
   - Simple: A strong personal habit of thinking or acting in a certain way.
   - _A melancholy twist in his nature kept him from enjoying his own success._
   - _Even as a child she showed a practical twist, taking apart every toy to see how it worked._
17. A rotation of the body performed while in the air during a dive.
   - Simple: A spin of the diver's body while in the air during a dive.
   - _Her final dive included a full twist in the pike position._
   - _He lost points because his twists were not completed before entry._
18. A dance popular in Western culture in the late 1950s and 1960s, based on repeatedly rotating the hips from side to side.
   - Simple: A dance from the 1950s and 1960s where you turn your hips quickly from side to side.
   - _Chubby Checker's hit sent teenagers everywhere rushing to learn the twist._
   - _Couples filled the floor doing the twist at the sock hop._
20. The form or shape given to something by winding or coiling it around itself.
   - Simple: The shape something gets when it is turned and wound around itself.
   - _The barley sugar kept its twist even after it cooled._
   - _Each iron baluster was forged with an elegant twist along its length._
21. The degree of stress or strain in something that has been wound or turned against itself.
   - Simple: The amount of stress in something that has been turned or wound out of shape.
   - _Engineers checked the twist in the driveshaft under full load._
   - _Too much twist in the climbing rope will eventually weaken its strands._
22. A type of thread made from two filaments wound around each other.
   - Simple: A kind of thread made by winding two thin strands around each other.
   - _Tailors prefer a strong silk twist for sewing on coat buttons._
   - _He threaded the heavy twist through the leather with a curved needle._
23. A roll or stick of baked dough or pastry formed into a spiral shape.
   - Simple: A roll of bread or pastry baked in a turning, rope-like shape.
   - _She glazed the apricot twist with warm honey before serving it._
   - _The bakery's pretzel twists sell out by mid-morning on weekends._
26. Ellipsis of hair twist. — Ellipsis of hair twist.
   - Simple: Short form of hair twist. Use it when talking about a hairstyle made by winding strands of hair around each other.
   - _Her low twist stayed in place through the entire evening._
   - _The stylist finished the twist with a few hidden pins._
27. A girl or a woman. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A girl or a woman. It is a slang word used in casual, tough-sounding talk.
   - _The detective asked around about a twist who had been seen with the suspect._
   - _He bragged that the twist behind the bar had a soft spot for him._
28. The spiral course of the rifling inside the barrel of a gun or cannon.
   - Simple: The winding path of the grooves cut inside a gun barrel.
   - _Nineteenth-century gunsmiths cut the twist into each barrel with painstaking care._
   - _A faster twist helps stabilize longer, heavier bullets in flight._
30. A small roll of tobacco leaves wound together into a compact rope or coil.
   - Simple: A small roll of tobacco leaves wound into a rope-like shape.
   - _He shaved a few flakes from the twist into his pipe._
   - _The trading post sold twists of dark tobacco alongside flour and salt._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A small thin shoot or branch of a tree or bush.
- (noun) Gun-barrel material made by twisting strips of iron and steel around each other and welding them into one.
- (noun) A drink of brandy mixed with gin.
- (noun) Hunger, or an eagerness to eat.
- (verb) To work oneself or something gradually into a place or position, often by subtle means.
- (verb) To persuade someone gently, by flattery or pleading.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English twist, from Old English *twist (seen in compounds like mæsttwist "a rope" and candeltwist "a wick"), from Proto-Germanic *twistaz, a derivative of *twi- ("two-"), which also gives twine, between, and betwixt. Related forms include Dutch twist ("strife, discord"), German Zwist ("turmoil, strife"), and Swedish tvist ("quarrel"); the verb is from Middle English twisten.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/twist (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).