Dictionary

twister en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈtwɪstə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈtwɪstəɹ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English twyster, equivalent to twist + -er.

Meanings

1. One who twists.
2. One who twists. ▸ One whose occupation is to twist or join the threads of one warp to those of another, in weaving.
3. An instrument used in twisting or making twists.
   • He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of the twine. 1653, John Wallis, Grammatica Linguæ Anglicanæ:
4. A ball delivered with a twist, as in cricket or billiards.
5. (colloquial) A tornado.
6. A girder.
7. (dated) The inner part of the thigh, the proper place to rest upon when on horseback.
8. (UK, colloquial) A crook, a villain.
   • “I don't know if it's my imagination, Kipper,” I said, “but something gives me the impression that at moment of going to press you aren't too sold on Bobbie.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, I wouldn't say that. Apart from wishing I could throttle the young twister with my bare hands and jump on the remains with hobnailed boots, I don't feel much about her one way or the other.” 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IX:
9. Any member of the species Tholymis tillarga of libellulid dragonfly, of tropical West Africa to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
10. The party game Twister, usually capitalized, or a variant.

Forms

Deriveds

arm twister · arm-twister · fossil twister · knife twister · jaw-twister · Mersenne twister · titty twister · tongue-twister · Labrador twister · supertwister · knife-twister

Relateds

water spout · dust devil · willy-willy

Translations (6)

bg торнадо (tornado) · mk торна́до (tornado) · sq shakull (tornado) · chr ᎠᎦᎷᎦ (tornado) · bg смерч (tornado) · mi tūkauati (tornado)