twitch
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (5)twitches, twitched, twitching
- make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion“his face is twitching”Synonyms: jerkMore general move involuntarily, move reflexivelyMore specific fibrillateSimilar jerk
- move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions“The patient's legs were jerking”Synonyms: jerkMore general moveSimilar jerk
- toss with a sharp movement so as to cause to turn over in the airSynonyms: flipMore general move
- squeeze tightly between the fingers“He pinched her behind”“She squeezed the bottle”Synonyms: pinchsqueezetwingetweetnipMore general gripMore specific tweak, goose
- move or pull with a sudden motionMore general pull, drawMore specific skitter
Noun (1)twitches
- a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous conditionSynonyms: twitchingvellicationType of spasm, crampKinds fasciculation, blepharism, fibrillation, tic
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. twicchen, fr. (doubtful) AS. twiccian; akin to AS. angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, G. zwicken. Cf. Tweak.
To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes.
Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear.— Alexander Pope
1. The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.
2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.
3. Farriery 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. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. John Henry Walsh
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54