Spasm
//ˈspæz.m̩// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ.
"Jessica went into spasms after eating a peanut."
- 2 (pathology) sudden constriction of a hollow organ (as a blood vessel) wordnet
- 3 A violent, excruciating seizure of pain.
- 4 a painful and involuntary muscular contraction wordnet
- 5 A sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.
"He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said to himself over and over again; but it is not always easy to use simple, plain language,—by no means so easy as to mount on stilts, and to march along with sesquipedalian words, with pathos, spasms, and notes of interjection."
Verb
- 1 To produce and undergo a spasm or series of spasms.
Example
More examples"I feel a sort of spasm in my left leg."
Etymology
From Middle English spasme, from Old French spasme, from Latin spasmus, from Ancient Greek σπασμός (spasmós, “spasm, convulsion”), from σπάω (spáō, “to draw out, pull out”).
Related phrases
More for "spasm"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.