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
Butler missed his first game as a Warrior with back spasms, and the Warriors felt the pain.
—
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
Samuel has Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition in which blood vessel spasms cause your hands, feet, or other body parts to feel numb and turn colors in cold weather.
—Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 3 Mar. 2025
The pope had a bronchial spasm on Friday that caused him to inhale vomit, which required non-invasive mechanical ventilation, according to an update from the Vatican.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
Whenever Iran suffers one of its periodic spasms of unrest, as happened at the end of 2022 following the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, protesters criticize Iran’s overseas entanglements.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spasm
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Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
Samuel has Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition in which blood vessel spasms cause your hands, feet, or other body parts to feel numb and turn colors in cold weather.
—Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 3 Mar. 2025
The pope had a bronchial spasm on Friday that caused him to inhale vomit, which required non-invasive mechanical ventilation, according to an update from the Vatican.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
Whenever Iran suffers one of its periodic spasms of unrest, as happened at the end of 2022 following the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, protesters criticize Iran’s overseas entanglements.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spasm
Cite this Entry
“Spasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spasm. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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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