twin
gb/twˈɪn/ us/twˈɪn/
A2
English
~ 3700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
one of two siblings born together
One of two babies born to the same mother at the same time.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is a twin
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'twin' with 'siblings' in general, but 'twin' means siblings born at the same time.
Synonyms
co-twin (Technical term referring specifically to the other individual in a twin pair.)
Antonyms
singleton (Refers to a person who is not one of a set of twins.)
Collocations
identical twin
|fraternal twin
|twin sister
|twin brother
|twin babies
Themes
family
|biology
|daily life
|body
|relationships
Examples
- My twin and I have always been close.
- She has an identical twin who lives abroad.
- The twins were born just minutes apart.
- He often gets mistaken for his twin brother.
Learner examples
- I have a twin sister.
- My twin is taller than me.
- The twins are playing in the garden.
- Her twin brother likes soccer.
Noun
B1
entity
2
one of two matching things
One of two things that look the same or are made to go together.
Usage pattern:
[something] is a twin of [something]
Synonyms
pair mate (Less common; refers to the other item in a matched set.)
Antonyms
single (Refers to an item that is not part of a pair.)
Collocations
twin beds
|twin towers
|twin engines
Themes
objects
|design
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The hotel room had twin beds.
- The ship is powered by twin engines.
- These buildings are like twins in design.
Learner examples
- My room has twin beds.
- This car has twin exhaust pipes.
- The chairs are twins.
Verb
B2
action
3
to match or pair with similar
To put something together with another thing that looks the same or is very similar.
Usage pattern:
to twin [something] with [something]
Synonyms
pair (More general; can refer to putting any two items together, not necessarily identical ones.)
Antonyms
separate (To keep things apart rather than pairing them.)
Collocations
twin with
Themes
matching
|design
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The city was twinned with a town in France.
- They twinned the new bridge with an older one nearby.
- Her dress is twinned with matching shoes.
Learner examples
- Our town is twinned with one in Italy.
- I twinned my scarf with my hat.
- The school is twinned with another school in Spain.
adjective
A2
property
4
having a sibling born at same time
Having a brother or sister who was born at the same time as you.
Usage pattern:
[someone] is a twin [brother/sister]
Synonyms
co-born (Rare; emphasizes being born at the same time.)
Collocations
twin brother
|twin sister
Themes
family
|body
|relationships
Examples
- She is my twin sister.
- He grew up with his twin brother in a small town.
- Twin brothers often share a strong bond.
Learner examples
- I have a twin brother.
- My twin sister is older by five minutes.
- He is my twin.
Grammar
Dictionary form
twin
IPA
GB/twˈɪn/
US/twˈɪn/
Syllables & stress
twin (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (twin)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: twin
Noun
- Base: twin
- Plural: twins
Verb
- Base: twin
- 3rd Person Singular: twins
- Present Participle: twinning
- Past: twinned
Word family
Forms
twins
noun
twinning
verb
twinned
verb
Advanced or less common
twinless
adjective
Highlights
- Irregular present participle: twinning Verb
- Irregular past: twinned Verb
Expressions
evil twin
4/ˈivəl twˈɪn/
idiom
informal
bad version of someone who looks the same
A person who looks like someone else but is bad instead of good.
Examples
- In the story, the hero has an evil twin who causes trouble.
- He joked that his evil twin must have done it.
fraternal twins
1/fɹətˈɚnəl twˈɪnz/
fixed phrase
twins from separate eggs, not identical
Twins who do not look the same because they come from different eggs.
Examples
- Fraternal twins can be different genders.
- My cousins are fraternal twins and look nothing alike.
twin cities
2/twˈɪn sˈɪtiz/
fixed phrase
two close connected cities
Two cities that are near each other and act like one city in some ways.
Examples
- Minneapolis and St. Paul are known as the Twin Cities.
- The festival is popular in both twin cities.
twin peaks
3/twˈɪn pˈiks/
fixed phrase
two nearby similar mountain tops
Two mountain tops that are close together and look alike.
Examples
- From here you can see the twin peaks across the valley.
- Hikers reached the summit of both twin peaks.
identical twins
1/aɪdˈɛntɪkəl twˈɪnz/
fixed phrase
Twins from one fertilized egg
Two brothers or sisters who come from one egg and one sperm, so they have the same genes and usually look exactly the same.
Examples
- People often confuse identical twins for each other.
- People often confuse the identical twins because they look so alike.
- Identical twins usually have the same eye color.
- The doctor explained that identical twins share the same DNA.