'twas

UK, UK/twɒz/US, US/twʌz/

A form of it — The third-person singular neuter personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, abstract entity, or non-human living thing.

Opposite
’twasn’t
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Meanings

contraction
  1. abbreviationarchaiccontractionpoeticContraction of it + was, often at the beginning of a line.

    ’Twas the Night Before Christmas

    5 more examples

    ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, / […]

    1779, John Newton, Amazing Grace

    ’Twas the night before Christmas, […]

    1823, perhaps Clement Clarke Moore, A Visit from St. Nicholas

    ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; / […]

    1871, Lewis Carroll, “Jabberwocky”, in Through the Looking-Glass

    'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.

    1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

    ’Twas the first of many feats so great, A legend through and through. We sing of him, Artorigus, the Noble and the brave.

    2012 May 8, “Noble Knight Artorigus”, in Galactic Overlord, Konami

Synonyms & antonyms

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with 'twas

wasbecauseozbuzzcuzcozfuzzpozLozabuzzcoussozrozzbruzbruzz'causemuzzschnozz
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

'twas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'twas

MLA

“'twas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'twas. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “'twas,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'twas.

Source: 'twas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.