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To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes. Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear. Pope.

See Quitch grass.

One who, or that which, twitches.

St. Vitus's dance; a disease attended with convulsive twitchings and other involuntary movements of the muscles or limbs.

Of or pertaining to fibrils or fibers; as, fibrillar twitchings.

A short, sudden pull, thrust, push, twitch, jolt, shake, or similar motion. His jade gave him a jerk. B. Jonson.

cially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch; also, to gather, to pick; as, to pluck feathers from a fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes. I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude. Milton. E'en children followed, with endearing wile,…

ly, and so becomes a troublesome weed. Also called couch grass, quick grass, quick grass, twitch grass. See Illustration in Appendix.

A sudden, violent check of a horse by drawing or twitching the reins on a sudden and with one pull.

A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort. For she did speak in starts distractedly. Shak. Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry. L'Estrange.

An habitual sudden twitching of the hinder leg of a horse, or an involuntary or convulsive contraction of the muscles that raise the hock. [Written also springhalt.]

A starting, twitching, or convulsive motion.

ore freedom than if it sat in his noose, which, when he pleases to draw together with one twitch of his negative, shall throttle a whole nation, to the wish of Caligula, in one neck. Milton.

motion of certain muscles; especially, such a motion of some of the muscles of the face; twitching; velication; -- called also spasmodic tic. Dunglison. Tic douloureux (. Etym: [F., fr. tic a knack, a twitching + douloureux painful.] (Med.) Neuralgia in the face; face ague. See under Face.

To pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch; as, to tweak the nose. Shak.

To twitch; to pull; to tweak. [Obs. or Scot.]

p. p. of Twitch. Chaucer.

imp. of Twitch. Chaucer.

To pull with a twitch; to pinch; to tweak. When a man is past his sense, There's no way to reduce him thence, But twinging him by the ears or nose, Or laying on of heavy blows. Hudibras.

To twitch; to cause to twitch convulsively. Convulsions, arising from something vellicating a nerve in its extremity, are not very dangerous. Arbuthnot.