Thesaurus results for CHARLEY HORSE

charley horse

noun

ˈchär-lē-ˌhȯrs

Definition of charley horse

as in cramp

a painful sudden tightening of a muscle had to stop and rest because of a charley horse in his leg

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for charley horse

Noun

Life advice Pregnancy can sometimes come with physical discomfort, such as hemorrhoids and leg cramps, as the body grows and changes.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 24 Aug. 2026
Those infected with salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

— Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of cramp

Noun

York’s arrest is the latest turn in a dramatic summer for the 49ers, who opened training camp last month with the news of a car crash 10 days prior that had left coach Kyle Shanahan with a concussion and dozens of stitches to his face.

— Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026
The bandages, cuts and stitches were still fresh from the terrifying attack on Jones Street on Wednesday evening.

— Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of stitch

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charlatans

charley horse

charley horses

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“Charley horse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/charley%20horse. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of charley horse

noun

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