torque
[tawrk]
- Mechanics. something that produces or tends to produce torsion or rotation; the moment of a force or system of forces tending to cause rotation.
- Machinery. the measured ability of a rotating element, as of a gear or shaft, to overcome turning resistance.
- Optics. the rotational effect on plane-polarized light passing through certain liquids or crystals.
- Also torc. a collar, necklace, or similar ornament consisting of a twisted narrow band, usually of precious metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons.
Show More
- Machinery. to apply torque to (a nut, bolt, etc.).
- to cause to rotate or twist.
Show More
- to rotate or twist.
Show More
Origin of torque
1825–35; < Latin torquēre to twist; (def 4) < French torque < Latin torques torques (torc perhaps < Irish ≪ L)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for torque
Contemporary Examples
“I think the show had lost a certain amount of torque,” he says.
Michael C. Hall on Where ‘Dexter’ Went Wrong and His New Killer Role in ‘Cold in July’Melissa Leon
May 23, 2014
To fully feel the depth of the Russian humiliation, you would have to have witnessed the torque of its rev-up.
Historical Examples
It seems to be descending from overhead, but Pat says that that's the "torque" doing it.
The Dope on MarsJohn Michael Sharkey
There are various devices by which the torque may be (approximately) got rid of.
The Theory and Practice of Model AeroplaningV. E. Johnson
The torque of the rubber strands on so short an arm is very great.
The Theory and Practice of Model AeroplaningV. E. Johnson
Around his neck was the torque, the emblem of chieftainship.
Beric the BritonG. A. Henty
The head snapped off as soon as I applied a few inch-pounds of torque.
The Trouble with TelstarJohn Berryman
torque
- Also: torc a necklace or armband made of twisted metal, worn esp by the ancient Britons and Gauls
- any force or system of forces that causes or tends to cause rotation
- the ability of a shaft to cause rotation
Show More
Word Origin
C19: from Latin torquēs necklace, and torquēre to twist
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
Word Origin and History for torque
n.
"rotating force," 1884, from Latin torquere "to twist" (see thwart). The verb is attested from 1954. The word also is used (since 1834) by antiquarians and others as a term for the twisted metal necklace worn anciently by Gauls, Britons, Germans, etc., from Latin torques in this sense. Earlier it had been called in English torques (1690s).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
torque
(tôrk)- A turning or twisting force.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
torque
[tôrk]
- The tendency of a force applied to an object to make it rotate about an axis. For a force applied at a single point, the magnitude of the torque is equal to the magnitude of the force multiplied by the distance from its point of application to an axis of rotation. Torque is also a vector quantity, equal to the vector product of the vector pointing from the axis to the point of application of force and the vector of force; torque thus points upward from a counterclockwise rotation. See also angular momentum lever.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.