bend into shape
1 [VN] to bend or turn sth into a particular shape:
Twist the wire to form a circle. * Her hair was twisted into a knot on top of her head.
2 [often +adv./prep.] to bend or turn sth into a shape or position that is not normal or natural; to be bent or turned in this way:
[VN] The bike was just a heap of twisted metal. * He grabbed me and twisted my arm behind my back. * [V] Her face twisted in anger.
turn body
3 to turn part of your body around while the rest stays still:
[VN] He twisted his head around to look at her. * [V] She twisted in her chair when I called her name.
4 [usually +adv./prep.] to turn your body with quick sharp movements and change direction often:
[V] I twisted and turned to avoid being caught. * She tried unsuccessfully to twist free. * [VN] He managed to twist himself round in the restricted space.
turn with hand
5 [VN] to turn sth around in a circle with your hand:
Twist the knob to the left to open the door. * Nervously I twisted the ring on my finger.
of roads / rivers
6 [V] to bend and change direction often:
The road twists and turns along the coast. * narrow twisting streets * a twisting staircase
ankle / wrist / knee
7 [VN] to injure part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, bending it in an awkward way:
She fell and twisted her ankle.
wind around
8 [VN+adv./prep.] to wind sth around or through an object:
She twisted a scarf around her head. * The telephone cable has got twisted (= wound around itself).
9 [V] ~ (round / around sth) to move or grow by winding around sth:
A snake was twisting around his arm.
facts
10 [VN] to deliberately change the meaning of what sb has said, or to present facts in a particular way, in order to benefit yourself or harm sb else:
You always twist everything I say. * The newspaper was accused of twisting the facts.
threads
11 [VN] ~ sth (into sth) to turn or wind threads, etc. together to make sth longer or thicker:
They had twisted the sheets into a rope and escaped by climbing down it.
IDIOMS
twist sb's arm (informal) to persuade or force sb to do sth
moreatKNIFEn., LITTLEFINGER
PHRASALVERBS
twist sth<->off to turn and pull sth with your hand to remove it from sth:
I twisted off the lid and looked inside. * a twist-off cap / top
Part of speech: noun
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for twist is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is twist a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, twist is tagged as verb.
Does twist appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — twist appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
action of turning
1 [C] the action of turning sth with your hand, or of turning a part of your body:
She gave the lid another twist and it came off. * He gave a shy smile and a little twist of his head.
unexpected change
2 [C] an unexpected change or development in a story or situation:
the twists and turns of his political career * The story has taken another twist. * The disappearance of a vital witness added a new twist to the case. * By a curious twist of fate we met again only a week or so later. * a bizarre twist to the tale
in road / river
3 [C] a sharp bend in a road or river:
The car followed the twists and turns of the mountain road. * They approached a twist in the path.
shape
4 [C] a thing that has been twisted into a particular shape:
a twist of tobacco / paper * mineral water with a twist of lemon
dance
5 (the twist) [sing.] a fast dance that was popular in the 1960s in which you twist from side to side
IDIOMS
round the bend / twist (informal, especially BrE) crazy:
She's gone completely round the twist.
moreatKNICKERS
