twitch

plural twitches

1. countableuncountableA brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.

   I saw a little twitch in the man's face, and knew he was lying.

   Synonyms: tic

2. countableinformaluncountableAction of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.
3. countableuncountablefarrieryA stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse and twisted to keep the animal quiet during minor surgery.

   THE TWITCH is a short stick of strong ash, about the size of a mopstick, with a hole pierced near the end, through which is passed a piece of strong but small cord, and tied in a loop large enough to admit the open hand freely.

   1861, John Henry Walsh, The Horse in the Stable and in the Field

   Synonyms: barnacle

4. countableuncountablemedicineA brief, contractile response of a skeletal muscle elicited by a single maximal volley of impulses in the neurons supplying it.
5. countableuncountablebusinessThe sudden narrowing almost to nothing of a vein of ore.
6. countableuncountablebiologyA trip taken in order to observe a rare bird.

   Siberian Crane [...] Following its departure, there was much speculation that rediscovery at a less inaccessible locality would lead to one of the great twitches of 1981; alas, this was not to be.

   1982, British Birds, volume 75, number 11, London, page 498

present singular third person twitches · participle present twitching · participle past twitched · past twitched

1. intransitiveTo perform a twitch; spasm.

   His fingers were nervously twitching.

2. transitiveTo cause to twitch; spasm.

   Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses...

   1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

3. transitiveTo jerk sharply and briefly.

   to twitch somebody's sleeve for attention

   1 more example

   Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear.

   1714, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC, canto III

4. obsoleteTo exert oneself.First known use 15th–17th c.
5. transitivebiologyTo spot or seek out a bird, especially a rare one.

   "But the key revelation from twitching that wonderful Iceland Gull on 10 March 1974 wasn't its eroticism. It was the sheer innocence of it."

   2003, Mark Cocker, Birders: Tales of a Tribe, →ISBN, page 52

   2 more examples

   Marsh Sandpiper [...] This delicate ‘mini shank’ has graced our shores for the past six successive years and has become increasingly easy to twitch.

   1982, British Birds, volume 75, number 11, London, page 504

   "I hadn't seen John since I went to Adelaide to (unsuccessfully) twitch the '87 Northern Shoveler, when I was a skinny, eighteen-year-old kid. "

   2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time, →ISBN, page 119

6. intransitivebiologyTo engage in twitching.

   "The Birdwatchers Handbook ... will be a clear asset to those who 'twitch' in Europe."

   1995, Quarterly Review of Biology, volume 70, page 348

1. uncountablecouch grass (Elymus repens; a species of grass, often considered as a weed)

1. A live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming.

   On the Amazon Live homepage, fans can also chat with the host and one another in a Twitch-like side panel next to the live video.

   2020 July 15, Sarah Perez, “Amazon Influencer Program opens to live streamers for broadcasting to Amazon Live”, in TechCrunch, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2020