twin

noun \ ˈtwin \

|Updated on: 15 Jul 2018

Definition of twin

1 a : either of two offspring produced at a birth

b Twins plural : gemini

2 : one of two persons or things closely related to or resembling each other

3 : a compound crystal composed of two adjoining crystals or parts of crystals of the same kind that share a common plane of atoms

—

twinship

play \ˈtwin-ˌship\ noun

See twin defined for English-language learners

Examples of twin in a Sentence

She's the mother of twins.
The twins went swimming after lunch.
My sister just had twins.
Sarah and her brother are twins.

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

Little People, Big World premiered in 2006 and has documented the lives of Matt and Amy Roloff, who are both little people and their four children — twins Jeremy and Zach, daughter Molly, and youngest son Jacob — on their family farm in Oregon.

— natalie stone, PEOPLE.com, "Jeremy and Audrey Roloff Are Leaving Little People, Big World After 14 Years — Find Out Why," 10 July 2018
Two twins wasted no time leaping into action when the saw 3-year-old drowning in a hotel pool.

— scott berson, miamiherald, "Twin boys were only 6 years old - but jumped to action when they saw a girl drowning," 9 July 2018
CBS New York reports a mass Sunday morning honored 61-year-old Audie Trinidad of Teaneck and his daughters, 20-year-old Kaitlyn, 17-year-old Danna and 13-year-old twins Melissa and Allison.

— CBS News, "New details emerge after N.J. mom survives crash that killed husband, 4 daughters," 9 July 2018
His twin Eloi made All-Arizona last season as a defensive tackle.

— richard obert, azcentral, "Sack attack: Top 10 outside linebacker/defensive ends in Arizona high school football," 9 July 2018
Property Brothers fans who have been watching the World Cup lately — particularly the Uruguayan team's matches — have noticed a striking similarity between professional soccer player Luis Suárez and HGTV twins Jonathan and Drew Scott.

— eileen reslen, House Beautiful, "Uruguayan Soccer Player Luis Suárez Totally Looks Like the Property Brothers," 6 July 2018
The pair married later that year and Amal soon had two children, twins Alexander and Ella.

— julius young, Fox News, "Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson aren't alone: Celebrity couples that got engaged quickly," 3 July 2018
Sister, Sister, the show that helped twins Tia and Tamera Mowry become household names, had two Black high schoolers at the center and explored Black family life.

— refinery29.com, "What Happened To All Of The Black Teen Shows?," 3 July 2018
And despite its previous setbacks, NASA is supporting interferometry on the twin 8.4-meter instruments at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory atop Mount Graham in Arizona.

— adam mann, Science | AAAS, "Telescope array will spy on spy satellites, star surfaces and black holes," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'twin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of twin

Middle English, from twin twofold

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

twin Synonyms

twin

adjective

Definition of twin

1 : born with one other or as a pair at one birth

my twin brother

twin girls

2 a : made up of two similar, related, or connected members or parts : double

b : paired in a close or necessary relationship : matching

c : having or consisting of two identical units

d : being one of a pair

See twin defined for English-language learners

See twin defined for kids

Examples of twin in a Sentence

the twin goals of reducing oil dependence and protecting the environment

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

The American twin brothers, Bob and Mike Bryan, react fast and can punish opponents with volleys that seem to be hit from a difficult position.

— tom perrotta, WSJ, "On Wimbledon’s Grass, Volleys Still Make a Difference," 9 July 2018
She is survived by her twin brother, Benjamin H. Holdorf, and her brother Theodore (Ted) Holdorf.

— OrlandoSentinel.com, "Deaths in Central Florida: 7/5," 5 July 2018
The Shades of Blue actress shares Emme and her twin brother, Maximilian, with ex-husband and singer Marc Anthony.

— alexia fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Jennifer Lopez's Daughter Emme Is in Talks to Land a Book Deal — at Age 10!," 28 June 2018
Two of these people include his younger twin brothers, 12-year-olds Matthew and Marcus Wells, who plan on following in Geordan's footsteps as local soapbox racers.

— jordyn hermani, Indianapolis Star, "Indianapolis teen to receive Soap Box Derby award for volunteerism, community service," 26 June 2018
Carlos, the youngest (along with his twin brother Larry) of eight siblings, was the perpetual family golden child.

— gilbert garcia, San Antonio Express-News, "Tomás Uresti’s Senate campaign an obvious act of brotherly loyalty," 26 June 2018
Identical twin brothers Amiri and Raheim Taylor’s harmonies made them a favorite as buskers in New York City who played Beatles songs.

— courtney devores, charlotteobserver, "8 buzzworthy concerts coming to Charlotte in the next week," 21 June 2018
City planning officials note that there are several other high-rise buildings in Hillcrest, including twin 15-story residential towers located approximately 1,000 feet south of where Hillcrest 111 will be built.

— david garrick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Hillcrest high-rise touted as model, but critics worry about community character," 12 June 2018
This idea manifested after Rodrigues watched videos in 2001 of the twin towers falling.

— danielle paquette, courant.com, "People think she's a Parkland "crisis actor." It's terrifying.," 7 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of twin

Middle English, twofold, double, from Old English twinn; akin to Old Norse tvinnr two by two, Old English twā two

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1593

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

twin Synonyms

Synonyms

binary, bipartite, double, double-barreled, double-edged, dual, duplex, twofold;

Antonyms

single;

Near Antonyms

unpaired;

Related Words

mated, paired;

twin

verb

Definition of twin

twinned; twinning

transitive verb

1 : to bring together in close association : couple

2 : duplicate, match

intransitive verb

1 : to bring forth twins

2 of a crystal : to grow in a compound form with two adjoining sections that share a common plane of atoms

See twin defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

But there’s something universal in its haze of raw abandon twinned with slinking fears of time passing and doors closing.

— august brown, latimes.com, "Joe Cardamone of the Icarus Line finds faith in music after a string of tragedies," 20 June 2018
Princess Charlotte has a long history of twinning with her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and Monday was no exception.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Princess Charlotte Is Once Again the Queen's Mini-Me in Adorable New Shades: See the Photos!," 12 June 2018
Success in Singapore, twinned with the booming US economy would also give Trump a strong argument in tough midterm elections.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "History beckons for Trump and Kim," 11 June 2018
All confident and glammed up, the former pageant girl and her 38-year-old mom were twinning while posing for cameras and taking on interviews about season 2 of Mama June: From Not to Hot.

— kayla keegan, Good Housekeeping, "Honey Boo Boo and Mama June Had a Major Twinning Moment Together This Week," 12 June 2018
It could be changed, better funded than the House’s $50 million goal, or perhaps twinned with a pending bill on reform of sentencing guidelines.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Incentives for inmates to chose a crime-free life," 21 May 2018
Meeting your girl crush and twinning on your first encounter.

— megan decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Karlie Kloss and Millie Bobby Brown Were Twinning In White Moto Jackets At NYFW," 14 Feb. 2018
The couple have four children: Sophie, twins Lise and Airey, and Jack.

— drew broach, NOLA.com, "Wendy Vitter, with one exception, might have what it takes to be federal judge," 27 Jan. 2018
Oh, and her hat was totally twinning with Meghan's.

— amanda garrity, Good Housekeeping, "Camilla Parker Bowles Wore Her Most Springy Dress Yet," 22 May 2018

First Known Use of twin

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

TWIN Defined for English Language Learners

twin

noun

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

: either one of two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother
: either one of two similar things that form a pair

twin

verb

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

: to bring (two things) together in close association
: to form a relationship between (two towns in two countries)

twin

adjective

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

—used to describe children who are twins
: made up of two similar things that are used together
: forming one of a pair of related or connected ideas or places

TWIN Defined for Kids

twin

noun \ ˈtwin \

Definition of twin for Students

1 : either of two offspring produced at one birth

2 : one of two persons or things closely related to or very like each other

On the opposite side of the river is the city's twin.

twin

adjective

Definition of twin for Students

1 : born with one other or as a pair at one birth

my twin brother

2 : made up of two similar, related, or connected members or parts

a twin-engine airplane

3 : being one of a pair

Her face was a pasty white with twin spots of rouge on the cheeks.
—Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted

Medical Dictionary

twin

adjective \ ˈtwin \

medical Definition of twin

: born with one other or as a pair at one birth

a twin brother

twin girls

twin

noun

medical Definition of twin

1 : either of two offspring produced at a birth

2 twins plural : a group of two offspring born at one birth

—

twinship

play \-ˌship\ noun

Learn More about twin

See words that rhyme with twin Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for twin Spanish Central: Translation of twin Nglish: Translation of twin for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of twin for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about twin

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twin

Definition of twin

twinship

Examples of twin in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of twin

twin Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

twin

Definition of twin

Examples of twin in a Sentence

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

Origin and Etymology of twin

twin Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

twin

Definition of twin

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

First Known Use of twin

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TWIN Defined for English Language Learners

twin

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

twin

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

twin

Definition of twin for English Language Learners

TWIN Defined for Kids

twin

Definition of twin for Students

twin

Definition of twin for Students

Medical Dictionary

twin

medical Definition of twin

twin

medical Definition of twin

twinship

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