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
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
Hart entered the season with a splint in his right ring finger, sustained back spasms in the Abu Dhabi preseason opener against the 76ers then had another lower back injury this season.
—
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
Narges Mohammadi’s brother, Hamidreza, tells TIME that his sister is suffering from a condition known as Prinzmetal angina, which causes spasms in the coronary arteries and can trigger heart attacks and other serious complications.
—Connor Greene, Time, 8 May 2026
China has been mostly sitting out the conflict, at least publicly, viewing it as a spasm of violence emanating from a superpower hard-pressed to assert its hegemony over a weaker opponent.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 May 2026
Baseball has a way of happening and Glasnow’s back spasms might just be the first thing to postpone the Dodgers’ decision on who gets bumped out of their overstuffed rotation.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spasm
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Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
Narges Mohammadi’s brother, Hamidreza, tells TIME that his sister is suffering from a condition known as Prinzmetal angina, which causes spasms in the coronary arteries and can trigger heart attacks and other serious complications.
—Connor Greene, Time, 8 May 2026
China has been mostly sitting out the conflict, at least publicly, viewing it as a spasm of violence emanating from a superpower hard-pressed to assert its hegemony over a weaker opponent.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 7 May 2026
Baseball has a way of happening and Glasnow’s back spasms might just be the first thing to postpone the Dodgers’ decision on who gets bumped out of their overstuffed rotation.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spasm
Cite this Entry
“Spasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spasm. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spasm
noun1
: 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
noun1
: 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
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