twin bed 1496
,twin 'bed n 1 [usually pl.] either of a pair of single beds in a room for two people 2 AmE a single bed —twin-bedded adj: a twin-bedded room → see picture at BED
,Twin 'Cities, the the cities of MINNEAPOLIS and ST PAUL, in the US state of Minnesota
twine¹ /twam/ n [U] strong cord or string made by twisting together two or more threads or strings: a ball of twine
twine² v [I+adv/prep;T] to twist or wind: The stems of ivy twined round the tree trunk. | You make a rope by twining strings together.
twinge /twindz/ n [(oft)] a sudden sharp attack (of pain): a twinge of toothache/(fig.) conscience
Twinings /'twarzinz/ trademark a British company that sells tea
Twin-kie /'twinki/ trademark a type of small, sweet, sticky yellow cake filled with a white sugary cream, sold in the US
twin-kle¹ /'twinkal/ v [[1 1 to shine through darkness with a soft light that rapidly changes from bright to faint: twinkling stars 2 [(with)] (of the eyes) to be bright with cheerfulness, pleasure, amusement etc
twinkle² π [(theS] 1 a repeated momentary bright shining of light 2 a brightness in the eyes from cheerfulness, pleasure, amusement etc: 'I'm only teasing you,' he said with a twinkle in his eye. 3 when you were just a twinkle in your father's eye infml humor at a time before you were born
,Twinkle, ,twinkle, ,little 'star a NURSERY RHYME (=an old song or poem for children):
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
twin-kling /'twinklin/ n 1 [S] infml a moment; very short period of time: I'll be back in a twinkling. 2 in the twinkling of an eye in a very short time
twin-ning /'twinn/ n BrE the action or result of joining a town closely with another town in another country to encourage friendly relations: She works for the Council and is responsible for twinning. | a very successful twinning, with frequent exchanges between the two towns' schools
'twin set n BrE a woman's JUMPER and CARDIGAN made to be worn together. Twin sets, often with a string of PEARLS, are associated with older, fairly upper-class, British women who support the Conservative party.
, Twin 'Towers, the the two tallest buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City which were attacked and destroyed when TERRORISTS flew planes into them on 11 September 2001 ➧ see WORLD TRADE CENTER
, twin 'town n a town which has been twinned (TWIN) with another: Oxford's twin town Bonn
,twin-tub n a type of washing machine with two parts, one for washing and the other for spin-drying: I'm going to buy a twin-tub this time.
twirl¹ /tw3:iltw3:r1/ v [1;T] to (cause to) turn round and round quickly; (cause to) spin or wind round: twirling round the dance floor | He twirled the keys round his fingers. —er n
twirl² π a sudden quick spin or circular movement →twirly adj
twirp /tw3:pltw3:rp/ n a TWERP
twist¹ /twist/ v 1 [1;T] to (cause to) change shape by bending, curling, or turning: He twisted and turned, trying to free himself from the ropes. | Her face was twisted with pain. The little girl twisted the wire into the shape of a star. 2 [T+obj+adv/ prep, especially round, TOGETHER] to wind: She twisted her hair round her fingers to make it curl. | Twist the two ends of the wire together. (=join them by winding them round each other) 3 [1] to move in a winding course: a twisting mountain road 4 [T] to turn, especially with a movement of the hand: Twist that knob to the right and the box will open. He twisted the cap off the bottle. | She twisted her head round to try and see what was happening. 5 [T] to hurt (a joint or limb) by pulling and turning it sharply: He's twisted his ankle. 6 [T] derog to change the true or intended meaning of (a statement, words etc): The newspapers deliberately twisted her words to make her look guilty. 7 twist someone round one's little finger infml to get someone to do whatever one wants; be able to persuade and influence someone to do
anything 8 twist someone's arm a) to bend someone's arm up and behind their back to cause pain b) to persuade someone to do what one wants, by threats or by making a very forceful request
twist2 n 1 [C] an act of twisting 2 [C] a bend: a road with a lot of twists and turns in it 3 [C] an unexpected change or development: By a strange twist of fate they both died of the same disease. | There's an unusual twist at the end of the book - the detective is murdered. 4 [C] something made by twisting two or more lengths together: a twist of tobacco (=a roll of tobacco leaves twisted together) 5 [the S] a dance, popular in the 1960s, in which the dancers twist their bodies in time with fast noisy music 6 [C] a small piece of LEMON or LIME put in an alcoholic drink 7 round the twist BrE infml mad ☞ see also get one's knickers in a twist (KNICKERS) —twisty adj: a twisty road
Twist, Oliver the main character in the book OLIVER TWIST, by Charles DICKENS
twist ed /'twisted/ adj having unnatural and wicked feelings or desires: a twisted mind/personality
twist er/'twistǝ/ n, infml, 1 a dishonest person who cheats other people 2 AmE for TORNADO or WHIRLWIND ☞ see also TONGUE TWISTER
'twist-tie n a short piece of thin wire, covered in paper or plastic, which is twisted around the open end of a plastic bag to close it
twit¹ /twit/ n infml a stupid fool
twit2 ν -tt- [[about, on, with]) BrE old-fash to make fun of (someone) because of their foolish behaviour, a mistake, a fault etc; RIDICULE
twitch¹ /twitf/ v 1 [1;T] to (cause to) make a quick short sudden movement, usually without conscious control: Your eye is twitching. | The horse twitched its ears. His face twitched with pain. 2 [T] to give a sudden quick pull to (something); JERK
twitch2 n an act of twitching, especially repeated short sudden movement of a muscle, done without conscious control: a nervous twitch ➧ compare TIC
twitchy /'twitʃi/ adj anxious about something and so behaving in a nervous way: What are you so twitchy about? I get twitchy for a cigarette if I don't have one for a couple of hours.
twit-ter¹ /'twitǝ/ v [I] 1 (of a bird) to make a number of short rapid sounds 2 [(ON, about)] infml derog (of a person) to talk rapidly (as if) from nervous excitement: He's always twittering on about unimportant things.
twitter2 n 1 [(theS;U] short high, rapid sounds made by birds 2 [S] infml a state of nervous excitement: She's been all of a twitter since her daughter announced her engagement to the prince.—tery adj
twixt /twikst/ prep pomp or poet between
Twiz-zlers /'twizǝl-arz/ trademark a type of red CHEWY tube-shaped sweet that has a CHERRY taste. People in the US often eat Twizzlers at the cinema.
two /tu:/ determiner, n, pron 1 (the number) 2: I've got one brother and two sisters. | twenty-two (=22) | two-fifths (=⅖) | a two-year jail sentence | He couldn't decide which violin to buy as he liked the two of them equally well. | Let's divide/break it in two. (=into two parts) ➧ see TABLE 1 2 put two and two together (and make four/five) infml to guess the meaning of what one sees or hears (and come to the right/wrong answer): 'How did you know I was going abroad?' 'I saw you had a travel book about Spain, and put two and two together. 3 That makes two of us I am in the same position as you: 'I think I'm getting a cold.' 'That makes two of us.' 4 Two can play at that game (used as a threat) You are not the only one who can get advantages by behaving like that; I can too! 5 two's company, three's a crowd saying a third person is not wanted by two people who are happy together: I won't come to the cinema with you and Sharon; two's company, three's a crowd. 6 two wrongs don't make a right saying a wrongful act is not put right or made good by doing another wrongful act ➧ see also one or two (ONE), be two/ten a penny (PENNY)
two-bit adj [A] 1 AmE infml derog of small importance; INSIGNIFICANT 2 two-bit piece old-fash a quarter; 25c