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REFERENCE

twice

adv. freq.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈtwaɪs// UK //twˈaɪs// twice General-service

adv. two times. You use this to say how often something happens or how many times you do an action.

adv. on two occasions or in two instances; double in degree or quantity.


SIMPLE

I brush my teeth twice a day.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor told him to take the medicine twice daily, once in the morning and once at night.

COMPLEX

The athlete broke the world record twice during the same season, proving that her initial victory was not merely a stroke of luck.

Synonyms
Origin

From earlier twise, from Middle English twies, twiȝes, from Old English twīġes (“twice”), from twīwa, twīġa ("twice"; whence Middle English twie (“twice”)) + -es (adverbial genitive ending). Related to Saterland Frisian twäie (“twice”), Middle Low German twiges, twies (“twice”), Middle High German zwies (“twice”). Equivalent to twi- (“(in) two; both”) + -ce. Similarly constructed to the prefixes bis- and dis-, borrowed from Indo-European cognates.

Usage

Typically placed after the verb or at the end of the clause; can also function as a pre-determiner before 'as' in comparisons.

Pitfall

I saw him two times.I saw him twice.While 'two times' is grammatically correct, 'twice' is the more natural and common choice for native speakers in everyday English.

Idioms4 entries

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