I. ˈtwit, usu -id.+V transitive verb
( twitted ; twitted ; twitting ; twits )
Etymology: alteration of earlier twite, short for atwite, from Middle English atwiten, from Old English ætwītan from æt at + wītan to guard, look after, reproach, blame; akin to Old High German wīzan to punish, reproach, Old Norse vīta to punish, blame, Gothic fra weitan to avenge, witan to observe — more at at , wit
1. : to subject to ridicule or reproach : taunt
nearly every day finds him … twitting reporters on their personal and professional weaknesses — New Republic
some seamen were twitting him about dressing so formally — Joseph Whitehill
2. : to impute or make game of as a fault
twitted his laziness
Synonyms: see ridicule
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an act of twitting : taunt
2. Britain : a silly peevish person : fool
making a silly twit of yourself — Noel Coward
3. : a nervous or jumpy state : jitters
what a twit she had been in — Martha Gellhorn
giving everybody the twits — Richard Llewellyn
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: imitative
: twitter , chirp
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: a defect in yarn or roving ; usually : a thin and weak place caused by too much twist