Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Twist \Twist\, n.
   1. Act of imparting a turning or twisting motion, as to a
      pitched ball; also, the motion thus imparted; as, the
      twist of a billiard ball.

   2. A strong individual tendency, or bent; a marked
      inclination; a bias; -- often implying a peculiar or
      unusual tendency; as, a twist toward fanaticism.

Twist \Twist\, 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. twistr the
   deuce in cards, tvistr distressed. See {Twice}, {Two}.]
   1. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally;
      to convolve.

            Twist it into a serpentine form.      --Pope.

   2. Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert;
      as, to twist a passage cited from an author.

   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.

   4. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture
      of parts. ``Longing to twist bays with that ivy.''
      --Waller.

            There are pillars of smoke twisted about wreaths of
            flame.                                --T. Burnet.

   5. To wind into; to insinuate; -- used reflexively; as,
      avarice twists itself into all human concerns.

   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.

   7. Hence, to form as if by winding one part around another;
      to wreathe; to make up.

            Was it not to this end That thou began'st to twist
            so fine a story?                      --Shak.

   8. To form into a thread from many fine filaments; as, to
      twist wool or cotton.

Twist \Twist\, v. i.
   1. To be contorted; to writhe; to be distorted by torsion; to
      be united by winding round each other; to be or become
      twisted; as, some strands will twist more easily than
      others.

   2. To follow a helical or spiral course; to be in the form of
      a helix.

Twist \Twist\, n.
   1. The act of twisting; a contortion; a flexure; a
      convolution; a bending.

            Not the least turn or twist in the fibers of any one
            animal which does not render them more proper for
            that particular animal's way of life than any other
            cast or texture.                      --Addison.

   2. The form given in twisting.

            [He] shrunk at first sight of it; he found fault
            with the length, the thickness, and the twist.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.

   3. That which is formed by twisting, convoluting, or uniting
      parts. Specifically:
      (a) A cord, thread, or anything flexible, formed by
          winding strands or separate things round each other.
      (b) A kind of closely twisted, strong sewing silk, used by
          tailors, saddlers, and the like.
      (c) A kind of cotton yarn, of several varieties.
      (d) A roll of twisted dough, baked.
      (e) A little twisted roll of tobacco.
      (f) (Weaving) One of the threads of a warp, -- usually
          more tightly twisted than the filling.
      (g) (Firearms) A material for gun barrels, consisting of
          iron and steel twisted and welded together; as,
          Damascus twist.
      (h) (Firearms & Ord.) The spiral course of the rifling of
          a gun barrel or a cannon.
      (i) A beverage made of brandy and gin. [Slang]

   4. [OE.; -- so called as being a two-forked branch. See
      {Twist}, v. t.] A twig. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Fairfax.

   {Gain twist}, or {Gaining twist} (Firearms), twist of which
      the pitch is less, and the inclination greater, at the
      muzzle than at the breech.

   {Twist drill}, a drill the body of which is twisted like that
      of an auger. See Illust. of {Drill}.

   {Uniform twist} (Firearms), a twist of which the spiral
      course has an equal pitch throughout.

Source : WordNet®

twist
     n 1: an unforeseen development; "events suddenly took an awkward
          turn" [syn: {turn}, {turn of events}]
     2: an interpretation of a text or action; "they put an
        unsympathetic construction on his conduct" [syn: {construction}]
     3: any clever (deceptive) maneuver; "he would stoop to any
        device to win a point" [syn: {device}, {gimmick}]
     4: the act of rotating rapidly; "he gave the crank a spin"; "it
        broke off after much twisting" [syn: {spin}, {twirl}, {twisting},
         {whirl}]
     5: a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments; "the wrench to his
        knee occurred as he fell"; "he was sidelined with a
        hamstring pull" [syn: {wrench}, {pull}]
     6: a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is
        pulled tight [syn: {kink}, {twirl}]
     7: a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind resulting when the
        current of a fluid doubles back on itself [syn: {eddy}]
     8: a jerky pulling movement [syn: {wrench}]
     9: a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair [syn: {braid},
         {plait}, {tress}]
     10: social dancing in which couples vigorously twist their hips
         and arms in time to the music; was popular in the 1960s;
         "they liked to dance the twist"
     11: the act of winding or twisting; "he put the key in the old
         clock and gave it a good wind" [syn: {wind}, {winding}]
     12: turning or twisting around (in place); "with a quick twist
         of his head he surveyed the room" [syn: {turn}]
     v 1: to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when
          struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The
          child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"
          [syn: {writhe}, {wrestle}, {wriggle}, {worm}, {squirm}]
     2: cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular
        form; "bend the rod"; "twist the dough into a braid"; "the
        strong man could turn an iron bar" [syn: {flex}, {bend}, {deform},
         {turn}] [ant: {unbend}]
     3: turn in the opposite direction; "twist a wire"
     4: form into a spiral shape; "The cord is all twisted" [syn: {twine},
         {distort}] [ant: {untwist}]
     5: form into twists; "Twist the bacon around the sausage"
     6: do the twist
     7: twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to
        remove (something) from that to which it is attached or
        from where it originates; "wrench a window off its
        hinges"; "wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a
        deep sigh was wrenched from his chest" [syn: {wrench}]
     8: practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about
        in order to mislead or deceive [syn: {twist around}, {pervert},
         {convolute}, {sophisticate}]
     9: twist suddenly so as to sprain; "wrench one's ankle"; "The
        wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their
        ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't
        walk for several days" [syn: {sprain}, {wrench}, {turn}, {wrick},
         {rick}]