Definition of "torsion" [tor•sion]

• The act of twisting or turning. (noun)
• The condition of being twisted or turned. (noun)
• The stress or deformation caused when one end of an object is twisted in one direction and the other end is held motionless or twisted in the opposite direction. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Twisting of the testicles, called torsion, can damage them and lead to antisperm antibody production."
• "Dr. Gregory Cochran, the first author on the Utah team's paper and a physicist who took up biology, said he became interested in the subject upon learning that patients with a particular Ashkenazic disease known as torsion dystonia were told by their physicians that "the positive thing is that this makes you smart.""
• "The problem stems from the fact that the symptoms of mumps most especially swelling of the testicles can overlap with those caused by mononucleosis and a testicle problem called torsion."