twitching

• IPA^(key): /ˈtwɪt͡ʃɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtʃɪŋ

twitching

1. present participle and gerund of twitch

twitching (countable and uncountable, plural twitchings)

1. The motion of something that twitches.
   • 1843, The Knickerbocker, volumes 21-22, page 73:

     Your twitchings and jouncings disturb me excessively.

2. (birdwatching) Birdwatching by people (twitchers) who travel long distances to see rare species or add a new species to a personal list.
   • 1974, “Letters”, in British Birds, volume 67, number 1, London, page 30:

     Between the scientific austerities of the Rarities Committee and the worst excesses of those suffering from the twitching syndrome (vide the man whose wife managed to deflect him via the telephone and the AA at Newmarket from a Bluethroat in Norfolk to a Wall-creeper in Dorset) lies a considerable body of bird people who are deeply interested in the migration patterns of Ross’s Gull and its appearance at Teesmouth[.]

3. (lumbering) Using a horse team to pull logs.
   • 1861, Journal of the Legislative Council of the Province of New Brunswick‎^[1], page 68:

     A great deal of horse-work was therefore required, and in twitching the logs[..]

twitching (comparative more twitching, superlative most twitching)

1. That twitches.

• twitchingly