Twitch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twitched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Twitching.] [OE. twicchen, fr. (doubtful) AS. twiccian; akin to AS. angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, G. zwicken. Cf. Tweak.] 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.

Twitch, n. 1. The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.

2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.

3. (Far.) A 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. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. J. H. Walsh.

Twitch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twitched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Twitching.] [OE. twicchen, fr. (doubtful) AS. twiccian; akin to AS. angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, G. zwicken. Cf. Tweak.] 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.

Twitch, n. 1. The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.

2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.

3. (Far.) A 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. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. J. H. Walsh.

• a brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm
  
• a session of bird spotting
       quotations
       *"The challenge of adding a particular bird to one's life list, and the surge of adrenaline that accompanies a successful twitch, is comparable in many ways to climbing a mountain." —
  
• perform a twitch; spasm
       quotations
       *"Why is it that you twitch whenever I say Faith?" —
  
• exercise the pastime of bird spotting
       quotations
       "I twitch quite a bit...but I've never been bird spotting" —
  
• jerk sharply and briefly