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.

Tens of millions of Americans might be eligible to claim refunds from the IRS because of a federal-court decision that said many pandemic-era tax deadlines didn’t actually apply.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Tens of millions of near-guaranteed votes are not everything.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

Tens of thousands of those told by the administration to leave the U.S. “immediately” have since left or been deported.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

Tens of millions of Americans saw director Ridley Scott's one-minute Apple advert during the Super Bowl on January 22, 1984.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Tens of thousands of Hitler Youth, storm troopers, and helmeted military guards lined his route from the Brandenburg Gate through the Tiergarten and out to the Reichssportfeld.

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

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