twitch

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.
2. (countable, informal, uncountable) Action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.
3. (countable, uncountable) 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.
4. (countable, uncountable) A brief, contractile response of a skeletal muscle elicited by a single maximal volley of impulses in the neurons supplying it.
5. (countable, uncountable) The sudden narrowing almost to nothing of a vein of ore.
6. (countable, uncountable) A trip taken in order to observe a rare bird.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To perform a twitch; spasm.
2. (transitive) To cause to twitch; spasm.
3. (transitive) To jerk sharply and briefly.
4. (obsolete) To exert oneself.
5. (transitive) To spot or seek out a bird, especially a rare one.

Synonyms

jerk

spasm

twinge

tug

wiggle

twitching

writhe

draught

quick grass

yank

drag

nip

vellication

convulsion

couch grass

haul

squeeze

draw

flip

convulse

flick

fire

🔥

be cramped

wince

cramp

jolt

tweet

pluck

drawl

shoot

squirm

quitch

pull

shake

🫨

tow

jiggle

pinch

grasp

girdle

flicker

flap

dog grass

fit

peristalsis

crush

concussion

bump

percussion

palpitate

fidget

Translations

tic

zucken

trekken

tirar

tirer

Zuckung

tirón

tic

tirar

σπασμός

estirar

zupfen

Zucken

verziehen

نشل

Pronounced as (IPA)

/twɪt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: twicchen

Inherited from Old English: *twiċċan

Cognate with English: tweak

Cognate with Low German: twikken

In summary

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”)).