Link Centre Dictionary

twitch

UK/twɪt͡ʃ/ US/tʰw̥ɪt͡ʃ/ uncommon informal obsolete
verb (5) noun (1)

verb

1.

make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion

  • “his face is twitching”
Synonyms
2.

move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions

  • “The patient”
Synonyms
3.

toss with a sharp movement so as to cause to turn over in the air

Synonyms
4.

squeeze tightly between the fingers

  • “He pinched her behind”
  • “She squeezed the bottle”
Synonyms
5.

move or pull with a sudden motion

noun

1.

Origin

From Middle English twicchen, from Old English *twiċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *twikkijan (“to nail, pin, fasten, clasp, pinch”). Cognate with English tweak, Low German twikken, German Low German twicken (“to pinch, pinch off”), zweckōn and gizwickan (> German zwicken (“to pinch”)).

Phrases

  • nervous twitch
  • sleep twitch
  • twitch fire
  • twitch game
  • twitch gameplay
  • twitch grass

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.