twine

/twaɪn/

/twaɪn/

Other forms: twined; twining; twines

Twine is the strong braided string that's often tied around a bakery box or used to secure a Christmas tree to the top of your car.

Twine can be made of cotton, hemp, or even plastic — it's stronger than string, but thinner than rope. It can be used to stake plants in the garden or to tie up a package of cheese from a deli. Twine can also be a verb meaning "to twist around," the way threads are twisted into a strand of twine. Your cats might twine around each other to sleep, for example. The Old English version was twin, or "double strands of thread."

Definitions of twine

1. noun

   a lightweight cord
   synonyms: string

   types:

   chalk line, snap line, snapline

   a chalked string used in the building trades to make a straight line on a vertical surface

   packthread

   a strong three-ply twine used to sew or tie packages

   type of:

   cord

   a line made of twisted fibers or threads
2. verb

   spin, wind, or twist together
   “Twine the threads into a rope”

   synonyms: enlace, entwine, interlace, intertwine, lace

   antonyms:

   untwine

   undo what has been twined together

   types:

   wind, wreathe

   form into a wreath

   wattle

   interlace to form wattle

   plash, pleach

   interlace the shoots of

   knot, ravel, tangle

   tangle or complicate

   splice

   join by interweaving strands

   piece

   join during spinning

   type of:

   distort, twist

   form into a spiral shape
3. verb

   arrange or coil around
   “Twine the thread around the spool”

   synonyms: roll, wind, wrap

   types:

   spool

   wind onto a spool or a reel

   reel

   wind onto or off a reel

   ball

   form into a ball by winding or rolling

   clew, clue

   roll into a ball

   coil, curl, loop

   wind around something in coils or loops

   cheese

   wind onto a cheese

   reel off, unreel

   unwind from or as if from a reel

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
4. verb

   make by twisting together or intertwining
   “twine a rope”

   synonyms:

   enlace, entwine, interlace, intertwine, lace

   spin,wind, or twist together

   type of:

   create, make

   make or cause to be or to become
5. verb

   form into a spiral shape
   synonyms: distort, twist

   types:

   wrench, wring

   twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish

   contort, deform, distort, wring

   twist and press out of shape

   entangle, mat, snarl, tangle

   twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

   enlace, entwine, interlace, intertwine, lace

   spin,wind, or twist together

   spin

   work natural fibers into a thread

   interweave, weave

   interlace by or as if by weaving

   morph

   change shape as via computer animation

   plait

   weave into plaits

   felt

   mat together and make felt-like

   enmesh, ensnarl, mesh

   entangle or catch in (or as if in) a mesh

   wind, wreathe

   form into a wreath

   wattle

   interlace to form wattle

   inweave

   weave together into a fabric or design

   raddle, ruddle

   twist or braid together, interlace

   plash, pleach

   interlace the shoots of

   shoot

   variegate by interweaving weft threads of different colors

   tinsel

   interweave with tinsel

   braid, pleach

   form or weave into a braid or braids

   knot, ravel, tangle

   tangle or complicate

   splice

   join by interweaving strands

   type of:

   change form, change shape, deform

   assume a different shape or form