3 VERB If you tweet or tweet something, you send a short message on the Twitter website. □ Thousands of people tweeted their disapproval. [also V ]
twee|zers /twiː zə r z/ N‑PLURAL [oft a pair of N ] Tweezers are a small tool that you use for tasks such as picking up small objects or pulling out hairs. Tweezers consist of two strips of metal or plastic joined together at one end.
twelfth ◆◆◇ /twe lfθ/ (twelfths )
1 ORD The twelfth item in a series is the one that you count as number twelve. □ …the twelfth anniversary of the April revolution. □ …a twelfth-century church.
2 FRACTION A twelfth is one of twelve equal parts of something. □ She is entitled to a twelfth of the cash.
twelve ◆◆◆ /twe lv/ (twelves ) NUM Twelve is the number 12. □ Twelve days later Duffy lost his job.
twen|ti|eth ◆◆◇ /twe ntiəθ/ (twentieths )
1 ORD The twentieth item in a series is the one that you count as number twenty. □ …the twentieth century.
2 FRACTION A twentieth is one of twenty equal parts of something. □ A few twentieths of a gram can be critical.
twen|ty ◆◆◆ /twe nti/ (twenties )
1 NUM Twenty is the number 20. □ He spent twenty years in India.
2 N‑PLURAL When you talk about the twenties , you are referring to numbers between 20 and 29. For example, if you are in your twenties , you are aged between 20 and 29. If the temperature is in the twenties , the temperature is between 20 and 29 degrees. □ They're both in their twenties and both married with children of their own.
3 N‑PLURAL The twenties is the decade between 1920 and 1929. □ It was written in the Twenties, but it still really stands out.
24-7 /twe ntifɔː r se v ə n/ also twenty-four seven ADV [ADV after v] If something happens 24-7 , it happens all the time without ever stopping. 24-7 means twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ I feel like sleeping 24-7. ● ADJ [ADJ n] 24-7 is also an adjective. □ …a 24-7 radio station.
twerp /twɜː r p/ (twerps ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a twerp , you are insulting them and saying that they are silly or stupid. [INFORMAL , OFFENSIVE , DISAPPROVAL ]
twice ◆◆◆ /twa I s/
1 ADV [ADV with v, ADV adv, ADV n] If something happens twice , there are two actions or events of the same kind. □ He visited me twice that fall. □ Brush teeth and gums twice daily.
2 ADV You use twice in expressions such as twice a day and twice a week to indicate that two events or actions of the same kind happen in each day or week. □ I phoned twice a day, leaving messages with his secretary.
3 ADV [ADV as adj/adv] If one thing is, for example, twice as big or old as another, the first thing is two times as big or old as the second. People sometimes say that one thing is twice as good or hard as another when they want to emphasize that the first thing is much better or harder than the second. □ The figure of seventy-million pounds was twice as big as expected. ● PREDET Twice is also a predeterminer. □ The barn was twice the size of her father's.
4 PHRASE If you think twice about doing something, you consider it again and decide not to do it, or decide to do it differently. □ She'd better shut her mouth and from now on think twice before saying stupid things.
5 once or twice → see once
6 twice over → see over ➋
twid|dle /tw I d ə l/ (twiddles , twiddling , twiddled )
1 VERB If you twiddle something, you twist it or turn it quickly with your fingers. □ [V n] He twiddled a knob on the dashboard. □ [V + with ] She had sat there twiddling nervously with the clasp of her handbag.
2 to twiddle your thumbs → see thumb
twig /tw I g/ (twigs , twigging , twigged )
1 N‑COUNT A twig is a very small thin branch that grows out from a main branch of a tree or bush.
2 VERB If you twig , you suddenly realize or understand something. [INFORMAL ] □ [V that] Then I twigged that they were illegal immigrants. □ [V wh] By the time she'd twigged what it was all about, it was too late. [Also V ]
twi|light /twa I la I t/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Twilight is the time just before night when the daylight has almost gone but when it is not completely dark.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Twilight is the small amount of light that there is outside just after the sun has gone down. □ …the deepening autumn twilight.
3 N‑SING [N n] The twilight of a particular period of time is the final stages of it, when the most important events have already happened. □ [+ of ] Now both men are in the twilight of their careers.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] A twilight state or a twilight zone is a situation of confusion or uncertainty, which seems to exist between two different states or categories. □ [+ between ] They fell into that twilight zone between military personnel and civilian employees.
twill /tw I l/ N‑UNCOUNT Twill is cloth, usually cotton, woven in a way which produces parallel sloping lines across it.
twin ◆◇◇ /tw I n/ (twins , twinning , twinned )