twin

noun \ ˈtwin \

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 \-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

Isma has left behind in London younger siblings, Aneeka and Parvaiz, 19-year-old twins.

— dwight garner, New York Times, "In ‘Home Fire,’ Lives Touched by Immigration, Jihad and Family Love," 8 Aug. 2017
There are many reasons why the ungainly twins drifted apart.

— The Economist, "Post-partum depressionSeventy years of Indo-Pakistani enmity," 22 July 2017
Thankfully, as of this week, Beyoncé is back on social media following the birth of her twins, so the internet doesn't need to rely on a wax figure to get its daily Bey fix.

— zoe weiner, Teen Vogue, "Beyoncé's New Wax Figure Looks Nothing Like Beyoncé, According to Twitter," 19 July 2017
A debate over whether the Atlases were peddling a scam quickly escalated to include allegations about the twins themselves.

— benjamin wallace, Daily Intelligencer, "The Culthopping Twins Who Have Been Evangelicals, Rappers, and Digital Nomads," 12 July 2017
The books focus on Faith Armstrong, who due to a one-night-stand as a teenager becomes pregnant and is forced by her very strict father to give up her twins.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo author explores religion in his Twin Destiny Trilogy novels," 7 July 2017
A Rancho Bernardo man says a family conversation about a news report of real-life twins born in different decades inspired him to write a trilogy of novels.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo author explores religion in his Twin Destiny Trilogy novels," 7 July 2017
Each hypervelocity star was part of a binary system in this dwarf galaxy until its twin exploded.

— marina koren, The Atlantic, "The Milky Way's Fastest Stars Might Be Stolen," 5 July 2017
George and Amal Clooney's twins have made quite an impressive debut.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "George and Amal Clooney Step Out with Twins for the First Time," 5 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

twin Synonyms

Synonyms

companion, fellow, half, match, mate

Related Words

coordinate; coequal, counterpart, equal, equivalent, like, parallel, peer, rival; carbon copy, double, duplicate, facsimile, identical twin, likeness, mirror image, replica, ringer; analogue (or analog), similarity

Near Antonyms

antipode, antithesis, contrary, converse, opposite, reverse

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 Waldrops have three boys - an eight-year-old and twin five-year-olds.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Watch an Alabama family learn the genders of their sextuplets," 27 Aug. 2017
The Enquirer/Melissa Reinert A family is desperately searching for a missing bulldog who played a special role in their twin daughters' lives.

— jessica schmidt, Cincinnati.com, "Hillsboro family searching for missing bulldog that helped twins with autism," 11 Aug. 2017
Ashley Home Store has donated 50 twin bedding sets.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 10 Aug. 2017
For instance, an American hoodie costs $48, while its globally made twin costs $38.

— sarah spellings, The Cut, "American Apparel Is Back, But Not Everything Is Made in the USA," 10 Aug. 2017
Washington and her kids — Tavon's twin sister, older sister and younger brother — still watch the TV reports of other kids who were shot.

— mary schmich, chicagotribune.com, "One year later, Tavon Tanner's 'still here'," 8 Aug. 2017
WHY DELIVERY Kevin Duff has a set of 1-year-old twin boys and an intense desire to not take them grocery shopping.

— bailey loosemore, The Courier-Journal, "The online grocery craze is in Louisville. What does that mean for you?," 27 July 2017
As India and Pakistan celebrate their twin 70th birthday this August, the frontier post of Wagah reflects the profound dysfunction in their relations.

— The Economist, "Hissing cousinsWhy India and Pakistan hate each other," 22 July 2017
Holt, for example, has twin children who are nearly 5 years old.

— bruce horovitz, Kaiser Health News, "Messages From Beyond: Using Technology To Seal Your Legacy," 14 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

twin Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

single

Related Words

mated, paired

Near Antonyms

unpaired

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 :to grow as a twin crystal

See twin defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of twin from the Web

Twins third baseman Miguel Sano was charged with a throwing error on what should have been the final out of the inning, but that allowed James McCann to score from third.

— george sipple, Detroit Free Press, "Tigers' late-inning rally falls short in 6-5 loss to Twins," 22 July 2017
Trump’s Warsaw speech raised eyebrows by twinning stifling government bureaucracies with terrorism as threats to western civilization.

— toluse olorunnipa, Bloomberg.com, "Trump's G-20 Ends With Few Prizes, Little Consensus on His Goals," 8 July 2017
The Kardashian sisters were twinning, wearing leather leggings and proudly wearing Thompson’s gold #13 jerseys.

— julia emmanuele, PEOPLE.com, "Everything We Know About Khloé Kardashian's Romance with Tristan Thompson (So Far)," 27 June 2017
Twins third baseman Miguel Sano, for instance, tore his UCL in March 2014 and missed the entire season but was fully ready to go by the start of spring training the following year.

— jon tayler, SI.com, "Top Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres to have Tommy John surgery, out for year," 19 June 2017
The Garden is the band formed by Orange County twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, a guitar-drums duo, whose indie punk vibe is particularly popular with the high school set these days.

— peter larsen, Orange County Register, "Is the Strawberry Bowl about to produce a new crop of entertainment? Oh! And then there’s free ice cream, too," 30 May 2017
A little investigating revealed the fact that their #twinning tendencies are not new.

— emma baty, Redbook, "Alicia Silverstone and Her Son Are Practically Twins," 30 May 2017
Boaters have been anchoring around Mel’s Cove or from Rosie’s Rock to Twin Coves with Power Worms or nightcrawlers.

— by roger george and dave hurley, sacbee, "Fishing Report: Week of May 8," 9 May 2017
The bean vines wrap themselves around the strings on their own, but with the tomato vines, which are not twining, plastic clips that encircle both vine and string help support the plants, especially when weighed down by heavy fruits.

— barbara damrosch, The Denver Post, "Trellises and other supports that blend into the garden — and sometimes shine," 5 May 2017

First Known Use of twin

14th century

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

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twin

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TWIN Defined for English Language Learners

twin

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twin

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twin

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medical Definition of twin

twin

medical Definition of twin

twinship

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