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
Woken up by a severe muscle spasm in my right shoulder.
—
R29 Team, refinery29.com, 14 Aug. 2024
Muscle spasms accompany muscle pain, which subsides with rest.
—Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 8 Aug. 2024
Cadaveric spasm, or postmortem spasm, occurs when a group of muscles that were engaged right before death become stiff and rigid.
—New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2024
In some such cases, corpses undergo a cadaveric spasm, where one group of muscles becomes rigid immediately following death.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spasm 
R29 Team, refinery29.com, 14 Aug. 2024
Muscle spasms accompany muscle pain, which subsides with rest.
—Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 8 Aug. 2024
Cadaveric spasm, or postmortem spasm, occurs when a group of muscles that were engaged right before death become stiff and rigid.
—New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2024
In some such cases, corpses undergo a cadaveric spasm, where one group of muscles becomes rigid immediately following death.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spasm
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spasm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near spasm
Cite this Entry
“Spasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spasm. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
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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