ASMR

American

abbreviation

autonomous sensory meridian response: a sensory phenomenon that occurs in response to low-volume audio stimuli, comprising a tingling sensation in the scalp, and sometimes including the neck or the back along the spine, along with a trancelike state of deep relaxation.

noun

a genre of audio or video recording featuring gentle whispers, crinkling paper, tapping fingers, or buzzing sounds that are intended to elicit a pleasurable or relaxing autonomous sensory meridian response.

I go to sleep every night listening to ASMR now.

Etymology

Origin of ASMR

First recorded in 2010–15; by abbreviation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It is a kitchen of clicks and clacks, of ASMR, of packets ripped open and weekly restock hauls.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 2025

When the pandemic hit in 2020, she finally had the time to act, launching Friends with ASMR.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2025

These TikTok clips, along with YouTube videos and Tumblr threads dedicated to “things fitting perfectly into other things,” are part of the Internet phenomenon of material devoted to ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response.

From Washington Post • Mar. 17, 2022

The scenes of Athie's character Dan methodically restoring are mesmerizing, like occupational ASMR: the white gloves, the cotton balls dipped in rubbing alcohol.

From Salon • Jan. 26, 2022

Move over ASMR, egg peeling is taking over.

From Fox News • Jan. 8, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023