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# twit

noun (a twit, twits); verb (twit — old-fashioned, rare)

«twit» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (informal, UK, Ireland, Australia, mildly rude) A silly or foolish person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#m1)
2. (old-fashioned, rare) verb: to tease someone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#m2)
3. Twit can also be the chirping sound a swallow makes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories and everyday British talk, «you twit!» is a mild, often jokey insult — stronger than «silly», much milder than swear words. Roald Dahl's book «The Twits» is about Mr and Mrs Twit, a nasty, dirty couple who play tricks on each other. Phrases: «you silly twit», «what a twit», «The Twits».

### Examples

- «You twit, you've put your jumper on inside out!» laughed my sister. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x1)
- Don't be a twit — wear your helmet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x2)
- Mr and Mrs Twit are horrible people in a Roald Dahl book. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x3)
- I felt like a twit when I forgot my lines. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x4)
- He's a bit of a twit, but he means well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x5)
- Calling someone a twit in class might still get you told off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x6)
- The linden-trees were in blossom; while the swallows flew here and there, crying, "Twit, twit, twit, my mate is coming,"--but it was not the fir-tree they meant. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/#x7)

### Note

Countable: a twit, twits. Mild insult (rude, but not a swear word); between friends it can be friendly. Similar: idiot, nitwit, prat (UK), plonker (UK), drongo (Australia). Do not confuse with «tweet» or «twitch».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «twit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/twit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«twit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/twit.html) on Mova free.