twister

noun twist·er \ ˈtwi-stər \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of twister

1 : one that twists; especially : a ball with a forward and spinning motion

2 : a tornado, waterspout, or dust devil in which the rotatory ascending movement of a column of air is especially apparent

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Recent Examples of twister from the Web

Became engrossed in brain twisters most of which were submitted by Doc.

— phoebe wall howard, Detroit Free Press, "Service Diary of a Corpsman: Roy L. Wall, LST 509," 28 May 2018
The twisters in Beacon Falls and Hamden, Oxford and Southbury, and Winsted were given EF1 ratings by the NWS, meaning their winds blew 86 mph to 110 mph.

— rebecca lurye, courant.com, "Eversource Aims To Restore Power By Sunday; 91 Miles Of Power Lines Damaged," 18 May 2018
Three storm chasers died in 2017 when their vehicles collided while chasing a twister in Texas.

— jim carlton, WSJ, "Storm-Chasing Tours Become Big—and Risky—Business," 18 May 2018
At its peak, researchers estimate that the twister spanned 2.6 miles across.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "How a Legendary Storm Chaser Changed the Face of Tornado Science," 5 Apr. 2018
The hypothesis goes that the infrasound is produced by pressure fluctuations in the middle of the twister.

— matt simon, WIRED, "A Tornado's Secret Sounds Could Reveal Where It'll Strike," 8 May 2018
Not a single tornado has been reported this year in Oklahoma – one of the world’s twister capitals – and that is a record.

— anthony r. wood, Philly.com, "Tornado scarcity sets welcome record. It's related to our reluctant spring," 26 Apr. 2018
And yet that season became one of the most memorable after Moore, Oklahoma, was ravaged by an EF5 tornado and three renowned storm chasers were killed by another huge twister in the central part of the state.

— cnn meteorologist judson jones, CNN, "Tornadoes aren't showing up in the Midwest so far this year. Thank Canada," 25 Apr. 2018
In StageOne and playwright Idris Goodwin collaboration some of America’s beloved folk tale heroes spring to life, John Henry and his steel-driving hammer, twister-lassoing Pecos Bill and the mischievous trickster Brer Rabbit.

— gege reed, The Courier-Journal, "You won't want to miss these top shows in Louisville starting March 18," 16 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of twister

1579

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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TWISTER Defined for Kids

twister

noun twist·er \ ˈtwi-stər \

Definition of twister for Students

1 : tornado

2 : waterspout 2

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