1
: on two occasions
twice absent
2
: two times : in doubled quantity or degree
twice two is four
twice as much

Example Sentences

I only wore it twice. He has rehearsals twice a month. He twice lost to younger opponents. We visited them twice in 10 years. The dictionary has been twice updated since 1993. I've been there at least twice. He must be twice her age. The population is twice that of Canada. The new one costs about twice as much. He could earn twice his present salary at the new job. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Trainer Chad Brown has won the Preakness twice with horses who skipped the Kentucky Derby — Cloud Computing (2017) and Early Voting (2022) — and could do it again with Blazing Sevens. Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, 17 May 2023 The Lakers and the Nuggets met four times during the regular season and each club won twice. John Scheibe, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2023 Harvard Business School rejected Warren Buffett, and Nobel Prize winner in medicine, Harold Varmus, was rejected by Harvard Medical School — twice. Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2023 The only other artist to win Eurovision twice is Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who finished top in 1980 and 1987. Richard Smirke, Billboard, 14 May 2023 Further, the maternal mortality rate increased nearly twice as fast from 2018 to 2020 in states with restrictions. Asima Ahmad, Fortune, 14 May 2023 The innovative approach worked: Women who received a DVD were nearly twice as likely to obtain all the screenings compared to women. Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 14 May 2023 Tomarchio led with five, and Collins and Trevor Sousa each scored twice with two assists. Anthony Maluso, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2023 Near-shore winds sustained above 100 mph, gusting perhaps as high as twice that, will probably shred many things in their path, knocking over structures and stripping trees of vegetation. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 13 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'twice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English twiges, twies, from Old English twiga; akin to Old English twi-

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of twice was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near twice

Cite this Entry

“Twice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/twice. Accessed 29 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

twice

adverb
: two times
use it twice
twice as large

More from Merriam-Webster on twice

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