intertwine

IPA/ˌɪntəˈtwaɪn/
KK[ˌɪntɚtwˈaɪn]IPA/ˌɪntərˈtwaɪn/

intertwine — verb

  • intertwinepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • intertwineshe / she / it
  • intertwinedpast simple
  • intertwining-ing form

1. to wind several things around one another, or to link them so tightly that pulli

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC1
Definition

to wind several things around one another, or to link them so tightly that pulling them apart becomes hard — for example, vines wrapping a fence, or one family's history bound up with another's.

Example

Thick green vines intertwine around the old garden fence every summer.

intransitive: things intertwine around [object]

Tanvi gently intertwined the red and gold threads to make a bracelet.

transitive: intertwine [object] to make something

Common collocations
  • closely intertwined
  • intertwined fingers
  • intertwined branches
  • lives intertwined
Synonyms
  • interweave

    stresses a woven, criss-cross pattern more than a simple twist

  • entwine

    very close in meaning; slightly more literary and often about plants or arms

  • interconnect

    for abstract links between systems or ideas, not physical twisting

Antonyms
  • separate

    to move two joined things apart

  • untangle

    specifically to undo a twisted or knotted state

Grammar Patterns

intertwine with [something]

be intertwined

Usage Note

Frequently passive ('be intertwined') when the connection between two things is the main point rather than the act of twisting. The intertwined items are usually two or more of the same kind — threads, branches, lives, stories.

Common Mistakes

She intertwined the thread.
She intertwined the two threads.
intertwine needs two or more things to wind around each other, so a single object sounds incomplete.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four describe things joined into a single linked whole, but they differ in image and register. 'Intertwine' is the everyday choice for two or more things winding around each other, and it works for both real objects (vines, fingers, threads) and abstract links (two families' lives intertwine). 'Entwine' carries the same picture but feels more literary and often appears with plants or arms — 'ivy entwined the gate'. 'Interweave' adds the idea of a woven, criss-cross pattern, so it suits threads, themes, or melodies that cross over one another. 'Interconnect' drops the twisting image entirely and is used for abstract systems that link up, such as roads, computers, or ideas. Choose intertwine when you want one ordinary word covering both a physical twist and a close connection: 'Their careers slowly intertwined.'

intertwine ↗entwine ↗interweave ↗interconnect ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become intertwined
  • closely intertwined with

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Built from the prefix 'inter-' meaning 'between or among each other' added to the verb 'twine', which means to twist strands together. So 'intertwine' literally pictures several strands twisting in and out of one another. 'Twine' goes back to an old word linked to 'two', because the simplest twist joins two strands.