TENS

American

[tenz] / tɛnz /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

a self-operated portable device used to treat chronic pain by sending electrical impulses through electrodes placed over the painful area.

TENS British

/ tɛnz /

acronym

transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: the application of low-voltage electric impulses to the skin to relieve rheumatic pain and provide some pain relief in labour. The pulses are said to stimulate the release of pain-killing endorphins

"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

Etymology

Origin of TENS

t(ranscutaneous) e(lectrical) n(erve) s(timulator)

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.

The device, known as TENS, for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator, became a standard medical tool.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2023

TENS, Lidoderm patches, in some cases nutrition and weight loss therapy, treatment for depression, smoking cessation?

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2014

Over the next three months, the clinic treated her neck and back with TENS, massages, electrical stimulation and heat packs.

From BusinessWeek • Nov. 10, 2011

The theory served as the basis for a now widely used analgesic therapy known as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS.

From Time Magazine Archive

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