torso

American  

[tawr-soh] / ˈtɔr soʊ /

noun

• torsos,
  plural
• torsi
  plural

1. the trunk of the human body.

2. a sculptured form representing the trunk of a nude female or male figure.

3. something mutilated or incomplete.

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torso British  

/ ˈtɔːsəʊ /

noun

1. the trunk of the human body

2. a statue of a nude human trunk, esp without the head or limbs

3. something regarded as incomplete or truncated

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• torsi
  plural
• torsos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of torso

1715–25; < Italian: stalk, trunk of statue < Latin thyrsus < Greek thýrsos wand, stem

Explanation

A torso is the trunk of a human body — minus arms, legs, and head. Anatomically, your torso's job is to protect your internal organs, like your heart, lungs, and kidney, which are all protected by your rib cage. A statue of a torso in a museum, usually ancient Greek or Roman, is that of the trunk of a human body. These works of art, often carved from marble, are so old that they've frequently lost their arms and heads — but still, the sturdy torso remains. Originally torso only referred to the trunk of a statue, from the Greek root thyrsos, "stalk or stem of a plant." Then, around the 1860s, it began referring human trunks as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

torso torsi torsos

Graham developed her now-familiar modernist principles for working the torso and spine, known as “contraction” and “release,” with her troupe, all female at the time, between 1927 and 1928.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

But superpowered paychecks and a ripped torso don’t necessarily bring inner peace — alternatively, they might give birth to some uncomfortable “Night Thoughts.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

Turkey is now seeking the repatriation of other antiquities taken during the Ottoman era: an ancient marble torso called the "Old Fisherman" from Berlin, and dozens of Iznik tiles held at France's Louvre museum.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

To recreate the animal, researchers constructed the torso using polystyrene foam and a wooden frame, then added cotton, bubble paper, and fabric to mimic soft tissues.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 19, 2026

Uncle Jet pushed his upper torso off the bed and shot an angry expression at Nathan.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

In addition to these works, that garden was full of torsi of men and women, which were a school not only for Mariotto, but for all the sculptors and painters of his time.

From Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects Vol. 04 (of 10), Filippino Lippi to Domenico Puligo by Gaston du C. De Vere

Andrea, then, was wont to cast in moulds of this material such natural objects as hands, feet, knees, legs, arms, and torsi, in order to have them before him and imitate them with greater convenience.

From Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects Vol. 03 (of 10), Filarete and Simone to Mantegna by Gaston du C. De Vere

"Women today are wearing flat plates that have been designed for male torsos," explains Erin Grieve, from NP Aerospace.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The first Roman Torlonia acquired important antique sculptures assembled by earlier collectors, with everything restored to perfection—no missing noses or limbless torsos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025

Butterflies, when spotted in the wild, or tattooed on the torsos of chaotic girls in their 20s, may be regarded as some kind of a sign.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2024

Moments earlier, however, members of the supporting cast were smearing blood over each other’s torsos in a heavy-handed metaphor for their moral complicity in Jesus’s demise.

From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

Sometimes all I want is to be a few inches taller so the world does not look like a dense collection of torsos.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• bronze
• bust
• effigy
• figure
• icon
• image
• likeness
• marble
• piece
• sculpture
• statuary
• statuette