twister

noun twist·er \ ˈtwis-tər \

Updated on: 15 Apr 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

The director of Mashhood’s mosque would lose his home in one of the twisters.

— monica rhor, Houston Chronicle, "Katy man and his WhatsApp crew formed an army of helpers," 11 Apr. 2018
Samaras was a tornado chaser with a simple but absurdly treacherous goal: to get close enough to a twister to glean data from within its core.

— jonny auping, Longreads, "Chasing the Man Who Caught the Storm: An Interview With Brantley Hargrove," 11 Apr. 2018
Some bottom-bouncing walleye fishermen still rely on lead-head jigs and colorful soft plastic twister tails.

— d'arcy egan, cleveland.com, "Fishing Report for March 23: Wet, warm weather a boost for river anglers," 23 Mar. 2018
As the afternoon went on, one twister after another began forming and touching down all over northern Indiana.

— dawn mitchell, Indianapolis Star, "1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes: 'As close to hell as I ever want to be'," 2 Sep. 2017
Another storm chaser was injured in Oklahoma while attempting to research the twister.

— noelia trujillo, Woman's Day, "Three Storm Chasers Stars Confirmed Dead in Oklahoma Tornado," 3 June 2013
There was an unconfirmed report of a twister in the Atlanta area that damaged dozens of homes and cars.

— CBS News, "Tornadoes, severe storms tear through parts of Southeast," 20 Mar. 2018
Presto Paul doing some tableside magic, a balloon twister, Star Wars characters, face painters, giveaways, games and food specials.

— luann gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Top 5 events in Cincy this weekend," 15 Feb. 2018
The huge twister was half a mile wide and stayed grounded for much of its route, tearing houses apart and resulting in at least 18 deaths.

— martha sorren, Woman's Day, "Arkansas Tornado Kills at Least 18," 28 Apr. 2014

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

TWISTER Defined for Kids

twister

noun twist·er \ ˈtwi-stər \

Definition of twister for Students

1 : tornado

2 : waterspout 2

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