rotator cuff

American  

noun

rotator cuffs plural

1. a bandlike structure encircling and supporting the shoulder joint, formed by four muscles attached to and merging with the joint capsule.

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rotator cuff British  

noun

1. anatomy the structure around the shoulder joint consisting of the capsule of the joint along with the tendons of the adjacent muscles

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rotator cuff Scientific  

/ rō′tā′tər /

1. A group of muscles and tendons attaching the shoulder to the scapula (shoulder blade) that provide stability to the shoulder joint and act to rotate the arm. Injuries to the rotator cuff often happen when the arm is repeatedly moved over the head with great force, as when pitching a baseball.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rotator cuffs
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rotator cuff

Less than 18 months after he was drafted, Lesch, wracked by a rotator cuff injury, was released, his major league dream over before he was old enough to legally buy a beer.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

If Lesch had come along 10 years later, when rotator cuff surgeries were common, he might have returned to the mound.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

After high school, I signed a minor-league contract but tore my rotator cuff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Grace has also been to physical therapy for a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder—a much smoother process.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025

These injuries and complaints range from blisters to severe tendonitis, bursitis, slipped vertebrae, rotator cuff dysfunction, and stress fractures, particularly fractures of the ribs.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown