twist

—twistable, adj. —twistability, n. —twistedly, adv. —twistingly, adv.

/twist/, v.t.

1. to combine, as two or more strands or threads, by winding together; intertwine.

2. to form by or as if by winding strands together: Several fibers were used to twist the rope.

3. to entwine (one thing) with another; interlace (something) with something else; interweave; plait.

4. to wind or coil (something) about something else; encircle; entwine; wreathe.

5. to alter in shape, as by turning the ends in opposite directions, so that parts previously in the same straight line and plane are located in a spiral curve: The sculptor twisted the form into an arabesque. He twisted his body around to look behind him.

6. to turn sharply or wrench out of place; sprain: He twisted his ankle.

7. to pull, tear, or break off by turning forcibly: He twisted the arm off the puppet.

8. to distort (the features) by tensing or contracting the facial muscles; contort: She twisted her face in a wry smile.

9. to distort the meaning or form of; pervert: He twisted my comment about to suit his own purpose.

10. to cause to become mentally or emotionally distorted; warp: The loss of his business twisted his whole outlook on life.

11. to form into a coil, knot, or the like by winding, rolling, etc.: to twist the hair into a knot.

12. to bend tortuously.

13. to cause to move with a rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.

14. to turn (something) from one direction to another, as by rotating or revolving: I twisted my chair to face the window.

15. to combine or associate intimately.

v.i.

16. to be or become intertwined.

17. to wind or twine about something.

18. to writhe or squirm.

19. to take a spiral form or course; wind, curve, or bend.

20. to turn or rotate, as on an axis; revolve, as about something; spin.

21. to turn so as to face in another direction.

22. to turn, coil, or bend into a spiral shape.

23. to change shape under forcible turning or twisting.

24. to move with a progressive rotary motion, as a ball pitched in a curve.

25. to dance the twist.

26. twist one's arm, Informal. to coerce: I didn't want to go, but he twisted my arm.

n.

27. a deviation in direction; curve; bend; turn.

28. the action of turning or rotating on an axis; rotary motion; spin.

29. anything formed by or as if by twisting or twining parts together.

30. the act or process of twining strands together, as in thread, yarn, or rope.

31. a twisting awry or askew.

32. distortion or perversion, as of meaning or form.

33. a peculiar attitude or bias; eccentric turn or bent of mind; eccentricity.

34. spiral disposition, arrangement, or form.

35. spiral movement or course.

36. an irregular bend; crook; kink.

37. a sudden, unanticipated change of course, as of events.

38. a treatment, method, idea, version, etc., esp. one differing from that which preceded: The screenwriters gave the old plot a new twist.

39. the changing of the shape of anything by or as by turning the ends in opposite directions.

40. the stress causing this alteration; torque.

41. the resulting state.

42. a twisting or torsional action, force, or stress; torsion.

43. a strong, twisted silk thread, heavier than ordinary sewing silk, for working buttonholes and for other purposes.

44. the direction of twisting in weaving yarn; S twist or Z twist.

45. a loaf or roll of dough twisted and baked.

46. a strip of citrus peel that has been twisted and placed in a drink to add flavor.

47. a kind of tobacco manufactured in the form of a rope or thick cord.

48. a dance performed by couples and characterized by strongly rhythmic turns and twists of the arms, legs, and torso.

49. the degree of spiral formed by the grooves in a rifled firearm or cannon.

50. Gymnastics, Diving. a full rotation of the body about the vertical axis.

51. a wrench.

[1300-50; ME twisten to divide, deriv. of twist divided object, rope (cf. OE -twist in candel-twist pair of snuffers); c. D twisten to quarrel, G Zwist a quarrel. See TWI-]

Syn. 7. wrench, wrest, yank. 33. See turn.

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▪ dance

      vigorous dance that developed in the early 1960s in the United States and became internationally popular after its adoption in fashionable circles. The twist's characteristic hip, arm, and leg movements have been described as “drying the buttocks with an imaginary towel while grinding out an imaginary cigarette with one foot.” Partners synchronized body positions and gyrations but never touched. Dances that evolved from the twist—for example, the frug and the watusi—were invariably performed by shaking the pelvis. In these dances partners only sometimes coordinated their movements. Among the suggested precursors of the twist are included the shimmy and the black bottom, and a song that was popular before 1910 included the lines “Mama, mama, where is sis? / Down on the levee doin' the double twis'.”

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