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Twist   /twɪst/   Listen
noun
Twist  n.  
1.
The act of twisting; a contortion; a flexure; a convolution; a bending. "Not the least turn or twist in the fibers of any one animal which does not render them more proper for that particular animal's way of life than any other cast or texture."
2.
The form given in twisting. "(He) shrunk at first sight of it; he found fault with the length, the thickness, and the twist."
3.
That which is formed by twisting, convoluting, or uniting parts. Specifically:
(a)
A cord, thread, or anything flexible, formed by winding strands or separate things round each other.
(b)
A kind of closely twisted, strong sewing silk, used by tailors, saddlers, and the like.
(c)
A kind of cotton yarn, of several varieties.
(d)
A roll of twisted dough, baked.
(e)
A little twisted roll of tobacco.
(f)
(Weaving) One of the threads of a warp, usually more tightly twisted than the filling.
(g)
(Firearms) A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together; as, Damascus twist.
(h)
(Firearms & Ord.) The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon.
(i)
A beverage made of brandy and gin. (Slang)
4.
A twig. (Obs.)
5.
Act of imparting a turning or twisting motion, as to a pitched ball; also, the motion thus imparted; as, the twist of a billiard ball.
6.
A strong individual tendency, or bent; a marked inclination; a bias; often implying a peculiar or unusual tendency; as, a twist toward fanaticism.
Gain twist, or Gaining twist (Firearms), twist of which the pitch is less, and the inclination greater, at the muzzle than at the breech.
Twist drill, a drill the body of which is twisted like that of an auger.
Uniform twist (Firearms), a twist of which the spiral course has an equal pitch throughout.


verb
Twist  v. t.  (past & past part. twisted; pres. part. twisting)  
1.
To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve. "Twist it into a serpentine form."
2.
Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert; as, to twist a passage cited from an author.
3.
To distort, as a solid body, by turning one part relatively to another about an axis passing through both; to subject to torsion; as, to twist a shaft.
4.
To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts. "Longing to twist bays with that ivy." "There are pillars of smoke twisted about with wreaths of flame."
5.
To wind into; to insinuate; used reflexively; as, avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
6.
To unite by winding one thread, strand, or other flexible substance, round another; to form by convolution, or winding separate things round each other; as, to twist yarn or thread.
7.
Hence, to form as if by winding one part around another; to wreathe; to make up. "Was it not to this end That thou began'st to twist so fine a story?"
8.
To form into a thread from many fine filaments; as, to twist wool or cotton.


Twist  v. i.  
1.
To be contorted; to writhe; to be distorted by torsion; to be united by winding round each other; to be or become twisted; as, some strands will twist more easily than others.
2.
To follow a helical or spiral course; to be in the form of a helix.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Twist" Quotes from Famous Books



... day following the Foam Flake's amazing cut-up on the Orham road, when she had come, in much worriment and anxiety, to learn how badly he was hurt. Her call had been brief, and, as he had succeeded in convincing her that the extra twist to his legs would have no serious effect, she had not called since. But Sarah-Mary, the eldest girl, had brought a basket containing a cranberry pie, a half-peck, more or less, of molasses cookies, and two tumblers of beach-plum jelly, and Sarah-Mary had said nothing to her Uncle Sears about ...
— Fair Harbor • Joseph Crosby Lincoln
... over the address, "To the Noble Signorina Enrica Guinigi, Corellia," as if each word had been some wonder. She dwelt upon every crooked line and twist, each tail and flourish, that Nobili's hand had traced. She pressed the letter to her lips, then laid it upon her lap and gazed at it, eking out every second of suspense to its utmost limit. Suddenly a ...
— The Italians • Frances Elliot
... carriage door; only his moving crest was as white as that of a cockatoo. Father Fromm, too, was waiting at the door, but could no longer run to meet his guests, for his left arm and leg were paralyzed: he leaned upon a long bony young man, who had spent much pains in trying to twist into a moustache by the aid of cunning unguents the few hairs on his upper lip, that would not under any circumstances consent to grow. It was easy to recognize Henrik in the young fellow who would have loved so much to ...
— Debts of Honor • Maurus Jokai
... say not, sir! Sometimes, at certain seasons of the mint, he might just sort of take a twist at the leaf, to sort of release a little of the flavor, you know. You don't want to be rough with mint. Just twist it gently between the thumb and finger. Then you set it in nicely around the edge of the glass. Sometimes just ...
— The Law of the Land • Emerson Hough
... Ministry at last found itself obliged to issue written instructions concerning the use of this means of warfare. What hypocrisy when the same people grow 'indignant' because the Germans much later followed them on the path they had pointed out! Very characteristic is the twist of the French official direction: 'The vapors spread by the shells with asphyxiating gases are not deadly, at least not when used in small quantities.' It is precisely this limitation that contains the unequivocal ...
— New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915 • Various


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