Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

psoas

American  
[soh-uhs] / ˈsoʊ əs /

noun

Anatomy.
  • psoai,
    plural
  • psoae
    plural
  1. either of two muscles, one on each side of the loin, extending internally from the sides of the spinal column to the upper end of the femur, which assist in flexing and rotating the thigh and flexing the trunk on the pelvis.


psoas British  
/ ˈsəʊəs /

noun

  1. either of two muscles of the loins that aid in flexing and rotating the thigh

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of psoas

1675–85; < New Latin < Greek psóās, accusative plural (taken as nominative singular) of psóa a muscle of the loins


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.

See Examples For:

The psoas is involved in hip movement, so it is not clear whether Nacua’s absence was caused by the same injury or a new one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Ms Coles said the tumour has grown in her psoas muscle in the lower lumbar region of her spine.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022

“But I had a labral tear and my psoas muscle was almost severed due to a structural abnormality in my hip. It wasn’t pretty.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2019

I’ve been under the ministrations of many physical therapists who knead and rub and press my mercurial, angry psoas.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2015

The anterior abscess emerges on one or other side of the psoas muscle; from the resistance offered by the fascia lata, the pus may gravitate down the thigh before perforating the fascia.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training