flexure

noun

flex·​ure ˈflek-shər 

1

: the quality or state of being flexed : flexion

2

: turn, bend, fold

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Flex cracking is due to excessive circuit board flexure. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 Nov. 2018

How much cleavage, compression, flexure, impact, tension, or shear is required to break the plane of a Titebond bond? —Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 5 Jan. 2022

Processes such as hydrofracture and flexure remain understudied, and ice-sheet models do not yet include realistic treatment of these processes. —Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin flexūra "act of bending, bend, curve," from flexus (past participle of flectere "to cause to move in a different direction, bend, curve," of uncertain origin) + -ūra -ure

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

flexure

noun

flex·​ure ˈflek-shər 

1

: the quality or state of being flexed

2

: turn entry 2 sense 2b, fold

Medical Definition

flexure

noun

flex·​ure ˈflek-shər 

1

: the quality or state of being flexed : flexion

2

: an anatomical turn, bend, or fold

especially : one of three sharp bends of the anterior part of the primary axis of the vertebrate embryo that serve to establish the relationship of the parts of the developing brain see cephalic flexure, cervical flexure, hepatic flexure, pontine flexure, sigmoid flexure, splenic flexure

flexural

-shər-əl 

adjective