Synonyms of charley horse

charley horse

noun

ˈchär-lē-ˌhȯrs 

as in cramp

a painful sudden tightening of a muscle

had to stop and rest because of a charley horse in his leg

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cramp
• stitch
• kink
• contraction
• spasm
• jerk
• crick
• twitch
• twinge
• pang

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of charley horse

Of course, our new life isn’t all rainbows and butterflies and charley horses. — Danielle Kraese, New Yorker, 24 July 2025

After walking Jung Hoo Lee on five pitches to lead off the seventh, Gore left the game alongside a trainer in the middle of a plate appearance against Matt Chapman due to a charley horse in his left leg. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 23 May 2025

Leg cramps, sometimes called charley horses, are sudden, involuntary muscle contractions that cause intense shooting pain that lasts seconds to minutes. — Amy Brownstein, Ms, Rdn, Verywell Health, 31 Oct. 2024

More commonly known as a charley horse, a nighttime leg cramp is when the muscles in a leg quickly tighten up. — Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 4 Feb. 2024

This is different than the last time, when the guy has the charley horse. — Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023

David Della-Giustina, MD, an emergency medicine doctor and professor of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine, says those heat cramps feel like a muscle spasm, or what's known as a charley horse. — Leah Groth, Health.com, 17 June 2020