spasm

noun

ˈspa-zəm 

1

: an involuntary and abnormal muscular contraction

2

: a sudden violent and temporary effort, emotion, or sensation

a spasm of creativity

spasms of pain

spasm intransitive verb

Synonyms

• charley horse
• cramp
• crick
• kink

Examples of spasm in a Sentence

a disease that causes muscle spasms

He was racked with coughing spasms.

She was suffering spasms of guilt.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trying to swallow so much as a sip of water — even thinking about trying to swallow it — is enough to trigger extremely painful muscle spasms. —Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023

One morning during a spasm of violence two decades ago, with suicide bombings shattering Israel every other day, the King David Hotel in Jerusalem seemed eerily empty. —Peter Baker, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023

The Roman Empire, for example, unraveled during a spasm of volcanic explosions, which led to a period of cooling that precipitated the first pandemic of bubonic plague. —WIRED, 21 Oct. 2023

People who've been stung may have weakness, fever, chills, muscle spasms, nausea, and vomiting. —Michael Menna, Verywell Health, 9 Oct. 2023

My jaw had inexplicably developed severe spasms, leaving me in acute pain, barely able to hold a conversation. —Hazlitt, 27 Sep. 2023

Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills including problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2023

Reese Waters was getting treatment for back spasms. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Oct. 2023

In people with Raynaud’s phenomenon, cold temperatures or stress trigger spasms in the small blood vessels near the surface of the skin, causing the vessels to constrict and limit blood flow. —Barbara Mantel, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English spasme, from Anglo-French espasme, from Latin spasmus, from Greek spasmos, from span to draw, pull

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

spasm

noun

ˈspaz-əm 

1

: a sudden uncontrolled contracting of muscles

back spasms

2

: a sudden violent and temporary effort, emotion, or outburst

a spasm of creativity

spasm verb

Medical Definition

spasm

noun

ˈspaz-əm 

1

: an involuntary and abnormal contraction of muscle or muscle fibers or of a hollow organ (as an artery, the colon, or the esophagus) that consists largely of involuntary muscle fibers

2

: the state or condition of a muscle or organ affected with spasms

the renal artery went into spasm