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terrible twos

terrible twos noun: a developmental stage in toddlers, normally occurring around the age of two, involving refusals and temper tantrums.

Noun

terrible twos pl (plural only)

  1. (informal, plural, plural-only) A developmental stage in toddlers, normally occurring around the age of two, involving refusals and temper tantrums.
    • The terrible twos can begin at 18 months and last until about age five.1988 February, Working Mother, volume 11, number 2
    • The terrible twos came early. Almost a year early. When Ryan learned to walk it was the end of our peace of mind!1990, Susan Hughes, Ryan: a mother's story of her hyperactive/Tourette syndrome child

Questions about terrible twos

What does terrible twos mean?
Terrible twos means a developmental stage in toddlers, normally occurring around the age of two, involving refusals and temper tantrums.
What part of speech is terrible twos?
Terrible twos is a noun.

Words near terrible twos in the dictionary

  1. terrible infant
  2. terrible infants
  3. terrible lizard
  4. terrible lizards
  5. Terrible Towel
  6. terrible twos
  7. terribleness
  8. terriblenesses
  9. terribler
  10. terriblest
  11. terribley

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: terrible twos (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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