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
He was found unconscious and having muscle spasms, a common symptom of oxygen deprivation.
—
Keith Langston, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
Francis' health had taken a turn for the worse on Friday, due to a bronchial spasm that caused him to inhale vomit, requiring noninvasive mechanical ventilation.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Mar. 2025
As this occurs, a person with MS may experience a range of symptoms such as impaired vision, memory lapses, mobility issues, muscle spasms, walking difficulties, imbalance, fatigue, mood swings and pain, numbness or tingling in their hands and feet.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
While things had been chippy between the two hockey superpowers long before Team Canada beat their neighbors to the south in the gold-medal round of the 2010 Winter Olympics, recent spasms of political weirdness have helped turn the animosity up a notch.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spasm
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Keith Langston, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
Francis' health had taken a turn for the worse on Friday, due to a bronchial spasm that caused him to inhale vomit, requiring noninvasive mechanical ventilation.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Mar. 2025
As this occurs, a person with MS may experience a range of symptoms such as impaired vision, memory lapses, mobility issues, muscle spasms, walking difficulties, imbalance, fatigue, mood swings and pain, numbness or tingling in their hands and feet.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025
While things had been chippy between the two hockey superpowers long before Team Canada beat their neighbors to the south in the gold-medal round of the 2010 Winter Olympics, recent spasms of political weirdness have helped turn the animosity up a notch.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 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 10 Mar. 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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