- twist
- twist1 S3 [twıst] v▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1¦(move)¦2¦(bend)¦3¦(wind)¦4¦(turn)¦5¦(road/river)¦6¦(words)¦7 twist your ankle/wrist/knee8 twist and turn9 twist somebody's arm▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[Date: 1300-1400; : Old English; Origin: twist 'rope']1.) ¦(MOVE)¦ [I and T]a) to turn a part of your body around or change your position by turning▪ He twisted his head slightly, and looked up at her.twist round/around▪ She twisted round, so that she could see the dog better.b) if you twist your mouth or features, you smile in an unpleasant way or look angry, disapproving etc▪ His mouth twisted in a humourless smile.2.) ¦(BEND)¦ [T]to bend or turn something, such as wire, hair, or cloth, into a particular shapetwist sth into sth▪ She twisted her handkerchief into a knot.twist sth together▪ Twist the two ends of the wire together.3.) ¦(WIND)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]to wind something around or through an objecttwist sth round/around/through etc sth▪ She twisted a silk scarf round her neck.▪ Ann twisted some daisies through Katherine's thick brown hair.4.) ¦(TURN)¦ [T]to turn something in a circle using your handtwist sth off (sth)▪ Jack twisted the cap off the bottle.5.) ¦(ROAD/RIVER)¦if a road, river etc twists, it changes direction in a series of curves▪ The road twisted between spectacular mountains.6.) ¦(WORDS)¦ [T]to change the true or intended meaning of a statement, especially in order to get some advantage for yourself▪ He's always trying to twist my words and make me look bad.7.) twist your ankle/wrist/kneeto hurt your wrist etc by pulling or turning it too suddenly while you are moving▪ Harriet slipped on the stairs and twisted her ankle.8.) twist and turna) if a path, road, stream etc twists and turns, it has a lot of bends in it▪ The river twists and turns through the green fields.b) if a person or animal twists and turns, they make twisting movements9.) twist sb's arma) [i]informal to persuade someone to do something they do not want to do▪ No one twisted my arm about coming to see you.b) to bend someone's arm upwards behind their back in order to hurt them▪ The policeman twisted my arm behind me and arrested me.twist 2twist2 n1.) an unexpected feature or change in a situation or series of eventsa new/cruel/unexpected/strange etc twist▪ The robbery took a deadly new twist as the robber pulled out a gun.▪ an unexpected twist in the plot▪ By an amazing twist of fate , we met again in Madrid five years later.2.) a twisting action or movement▪ He smiled, a slow cynical twist of his lips.3.) a bend in a river or road4.) a small piece of something that is twisted into a particular shapetwist of▪ a twist of lemon5.) the twista popular fast dance from the 1960s in which you twist your body from side to side6.) round the twistBrE spokena) crazy▪ 'The woman's mad,' she told herself. 'She's round the twist.'b) very angry>twisty adj▪ a twisty road
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.