torques

American  

[tawr-kweez] / ˈtɔr kwiz /

noun

Zoology.

1. a ringlike band or formation about the neck, as of feathers, hair, or integument of distinctive color or appearance; a collar.

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torques British  

/ -kweɪt, ˈtɔːkwɪt, ˈtɔːkwiːz /

noun

1. a distinctive band of hair, feathers, skin, or colour around the neck of an animal; a collar

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Other Word Forms

• torquate adjective

Etymology

Origin of torques

1560–70; < Latin torquēs twisted necklace or collar, equivalent to torqu ( ēre ) to twist (akin to Greek trépein to turn) + -ēs feminine deverbative noun suffix

Example Sentences

Computer simulations that applied realistic forces and torques confirmed this behavior and showed that plectoneme formation depends on DNA's ability to transmit twist along its length.

From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026

Ultimately, though, the author torques her contrarianism past trolling, past knee-jerk philosophizing and past satire, alchemizing a critique of literary culture in all its ideological waywardness.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023

Some of the white terracotta tiles that cover the building’s facade were haphazardly installed, wrecking the precise geometries of a design that ripples and torques.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2023

The equal forces exerted by the hands are equidistant from the chosen pivot, and so they exert equal and opposite torques.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

“Lord Bowen, you shall collect the tolls. The gold and silver, the amber, the torques and armbands and necklaces. Sort it all, count it, see that it reaches Eastwatch safely.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin