twitch
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twitch¹
- /twɪt͡ʃ/
- [tʰw̥ɪt͡ʃ]
Rhymes with -ɪtʃ
Where it comes from
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”)).
noun twitches
-
A brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.
I saw a little twitch in the man's face, and knew he was lying.
Similar: tic
- Action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.
-
A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse and twisted to keep the animal quiet during minor surgery.
THE TWITCH is a short stick of strong ash, about the size of a mopstick, with a hole pierced near the end, through which is passed a piece of strong but small cord, and tied in a loop large enough to admit the open hand freely.
Similar: barnacle
- A brief, contractile response of a skeletal muscle elicited by a single maximal volley of impulses in the neurons supplying it.
- The sudden narrowing almost to nothing of a vein of ore.
- A trip taken in order to observe a rare bird. Siberian Crane [...] Following its departure, there was much speculation that rediscovery at a less inaccessible locality would lead to one of the great twitches of 1981; alas, this was not to be.
verb twitches · twitching · twitched
- To perform a twitch; spasm. His fingers were nervously twitching.
- To cause to twitch; spasm. Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses...
- To jerk sharply and briefly. to twitch somebody's sleeve for attention
- To exert oneself.
- To spot or seek out a bird, especially a rare one. Marsh Sandpiper [...] This delicate ‘mini shank’ has graced our shores for the past six successive years and has become increasingly easy to twitch.
- To engage in twitching. "The Birdwatchers Handbook ... will be a clear asset to those who 'twitch' in Europe."
twitch²
- /twɪt͡ʃ/
- [tʰw̥ɪt͡ʃ]
Rhymes with -ɪtʃ
Where it comes from
alternate of quitch
noun
- couch grass (Elymus repens; a species of grass, often considered as a weed)
Twitch³
Where it comes from
Inspired by the term twitch gameplay.
proper noun
- A live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming. On the Amazon Live homepage, fans can also chat with the host and one another in a Twitch-like side panel next to the live video.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: twinge, pinch, vellicate, squeeze, nip, tweet, jerk, flip, tic, spasm, contracture, glycolytic, oxidative, rattle, shrinkage, wiggle
Translations
Every language
noun 1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again
| Español | crispatura, crispadura, crispamiento, crispación |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 引き攣り hikitsuri |
| 中文 | 抽搐 chōuchù |
| Português | tique, espasmo |
| Français | tic |
| Deutsch | Zuckung, Zucken |
| Italiano | tic, spasimo |
| Русский | подёргивание podjórgivanije, су́дорога súdoroga, тик tik |
noun 3. (farriery)
| Español | aciar, acial |
|---|---|
| Português | aziar |
| Français | tord-nez, morailles |
| Deutsch | Nasenbremse, Bremse, Klappe, Kluppe, Knuppe, Maulholz |
| Italiano | imboccatura |
| العربية | زِيَار ziyār |
noun 4. (physiology) muscle contraction
| Italiano | spasmo, contrazione, tremito |
|---|
verb 1. to perform a twitch; spasm
| Español | crisparse |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 抽搐 chōuchù |
| Français | spasmer, secouer, tressauter |
| Deutsch | zucken |
| Italiano | spasimare |
| Русский | дёргаться djórgatʹsja, дёрнуться djórnutʹsja, подёргиваться podjórgivatʹsja |
verb 2. to jerk sharply and briefly
| Español | crispar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zupfen an, reißen an |
| Italiano | strattonare |
| Русский | дёргать djórgatʹ, дёрнуть djórnutʹ |
verb 3. to spot a bird
| Italiano | individuare, identificare |
|---|
Talk about this word "twitch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/twitch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. twitch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/twitch "twitch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/twitch.Cite this
@misc{twitch_2026,
title = {twitch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/twitch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
