twill

T1W4I1L1L1
/twɪl/[twɪɫ]

noun

A pattern, characterised by diagonal ridges, created by the regular interlacing of threads of the warp and weft during weaving.

Similar
twill weave
Less commonScrabble 8

Meanings

nountwill (countable and uncountable, plural twills)

plural twills · alternative tweel

  1. countableuncountablebusinessA pattern, characterised by diagonal ridges, created by the regular interlacing of threads of the warp and weft during weaving.

    Herringbone fabrics are a twill variation having the twill line reversed at regular intervals.

    2002, Dianne Rose Jackman, Mary K. Dixon, Jill Condra, The Guide to Textiles for Interiors, page 98
    2 more examples

    The twill weave is always given a direction; a right-hand twill is one in which the twill line runs from bottom left to top right and a left-hand twill is one in which the twill line runs from bottom right to top left. The angle of the twill is determined by the amount of shift in the points of interlacing.

    1973, P. R. Lord, M. H. Mohamed, Weaving: Conversion of Yarn to Fabric, 2nd edition, page 167

    Industrial uses of twill fabrics are mainly restricted to simple twills and only simple twills are described here. Broken twills, waved twills, herringbone twills and elongated twills are extensively used for suiting and dress fabrics.

    2000, Walter S. Sondhelm, “4: Technical fabric structures - 1. Woven fabrics”, in A. Richard Horrocks, Subhash C. Anand, editors, Handbook of Technical Textiles, page 68
  2. countableuncountableA cloth or portion of cloth woven in such a pattern.

    Plain cotton twills, such as canvas, sailcloth, and denim, in mediumweight fabrics, can be a good choice for informal rooms that receive considerable wear and tear, such as rec rooms, dens, playrooms, or children's bedrooms.

    2006, Mark Montano, Carly Sommerstein, Window Treatments and Slipcovers For Dummies, page 33
verbtwill (third-person singular simple present twills, present participle twilling, simple past and past participle twilled)

present singular third person twills · participle present twilling · participle past twilled · past twilled · alternative tweel

  1. transitiveTo weave (cloth, etc.) so as to produce the appearance of diagonal lines or ribs on the surface.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna weave used to produce the effect of parallel diagonal ribs

Similar
twill weave
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinbilix
  2. Old Englishtwilīċ“two-threaded”
  3. Middle Englishtwyll
  4. Englishtwill

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English twyll, twylle, from Old English twilīċ (“two-threaded”), a partial calque of Latin bilix, bilic-, from bis (“twice”) + licium (“thread”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan sarja, sarja
  • sarjaweaving pattern
  • sarjatype of cloth
Chinese Mandarin 斜紋 /斜纹
  • 斜紋 /斜纹 (xiéwén)weaving pattern
Czech kepr, kepr
  • keprweaving pattern
  • keprtype of cloth
Dutch keper
  • keperweaving pattern
Finnish toimikas, toimikaskangas
  • toimikasweaving pattern
  • toimikaskangastype of cloth
  • tvillitype of cloth
French sergé
  • sergéweaving pattern
German Köperbindung, Köper
  • Köperbindungweaving pattern
  • Köperweaving pattern
  • Köpertype of cloth
Hungarian sávoly
  • sávolyweaving pattern
Irish corrán, corrán
  • corránweaving pattern
  • corrántype of cloth
Italian saia, saia
  • saiaweaving pattern
  • saiatype of cloth
Japanese 綾織
  • 綾織weaving pattern
Russian са́ржа, твил
  • са́ржа (sárža)weaving pattern
  • твил (tvil)weaving pattern
Spanish sarga
  • sargaweaving pattern
Swedish kypert, vie
  • kypertweaving pattern
  • vieweaving pattern
  • videweaving pattern
  • vigeweaving pattern
  • kyperttype of cloth
  • vietype of cloth
  • videtype of cloth
  • vigetype of cloth

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with twill

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

twill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twill

MLA

“twill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twill. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “twill,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twill.

Source: twill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.