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

This not only includes eating a healthier diet but also changing habits that contribute to bladder spasms and leakage. —Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 23 Sep. 2024

Not a muscle spasm, after all, but a post lumbar puncture headache. —Katie Gutierrez, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024

Belichick’s Zoom seemed to be operating at a three-second lag, which led to some early spasms of crosstalk and compensatory stretches of dead air. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 13 Sep. 2024

Floating Points: Cascade [Ninja Tune] Sam Shepherd’s first solo Floating Points album since 2019 reasserts the British producer and jazz composer at the helm of the dancefloor, splaying ornate melodies over twitchy rhythms as likely to induce stupefied wonder as full-body spasms. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 13 Sep. 2024

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