torque
[ tawrk ]
/ tɔrk /
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noun
verb (used with object), torqued, torqu·ing.
Machinery. to apply torque to (a nut, bolt, etc.).
to cause to rotate or twist.
verb (used without object), torqued, torqu·ing.
to rotate or twist.
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Origin of torque
First recorded in 1825–35; from Latin torquēre “to twist”; def. 4 is from French torque, from Latin torques “collar” (the spelling torc is perhaps from Irish, ultimately from Latin ); see torques
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
British Dictionary definitions for torque
torque
/ (tɔːk) /
noun
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
Word Origin for torque
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
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Medical definitions for torque
torque
[ tôrk ]
n.
A turning or twisting force.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for torque
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.