The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Twist \Twist\ (tw[i^]st), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twisted; p. pr.
   & vb. n. Twisting.] [OE. twisten, AS. twist a rope, as made
   of two (twisted) strands, fr. twi- two; akin to D. twist a
   quarrel, dissension, G. zwist, Dan. & Sw. tvist, Icel. tvistr
   the deuce in cards, tvistr distressed. See Twice, Two.]
   1. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally;
      to convolve.
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            Twist it into a serpentine form.      --Pope.
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   2. Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert;
      as, to twist a passage cited from an author.
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   3. To distort, as a solid body, by turning one part
      relatively to another about an axis passing through both;
      to subject to torsion; as, to twist a shaft.
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   4. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture
      of parts. "Longing to twist bays with that ivy." --Waller.
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            There are pillars of smoke twisted about with
            wreaths of flame.                     --T. Burnet.
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   5. To wind into; to insinuate; -- used reflexively; as,
      avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
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   6. To unite by winding one thread, strand, or other flexible
      substance, round another; to form by convolution, or
      winding separate things round each other; as, to twist
      yarn or thread. --Shak.
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   7. Hence, to form as if by winding one part around another;
      to wreathe; to make up.
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            Was it not to this end
            That thou began'st to twist so fine a story? --Shak.
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   8. To form into a thread from many fine filaments; as, to
      twist wool or cotton.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Twisting \Twist"ing\,
   a. & n. from Twist.
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   Twisting pair. (Kinematics) See under Pair, n., 7.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

twisting
    adj 1: marked by repeated turns and bends; "a tortuous road up
           the mountain"; "winding roads are full of surprises";
           "had to steer the car down a twisty track" [syn:
           tortuous, twisting, twisty, winding,
           voluminous]
    n 1: the act of distorting something so it seems to mean
         something it was not intended to mean [syn: distortion,
         overrefinement, straining, torture, twisting]
    2: the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it
       broke off after much twisting" [syn: spin, twirl,
       twist, twisting, whirl]