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

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Etymology

Origin of torso

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

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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

The Tiangong Omni swivels its torso wildly from side to side while waving its bent arms in front of its face.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

Mexican side Club America's new home shirt is inspired by one worn during the 1998-99 season, with the club's crest blown up across the torso.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

“The crocodile had him by the thigh, and he would turn, and the size of this crocodile, I mean, his head was as long as my torso, his tail thicker than my legs,” Yetter said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

The original 1970s machine took nearly five hours to produce one blurry cross-section of a human torso.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

And his gaze traveled upward from legs planted so firmly they might as well have been tree trunks to a torso carved of stone, immovable, ivory arms, up to a blanched face that—

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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

Limbs bend in concerning directions as torsos threaten to fall to the ground; a blanket covers portions of each performer and adds another mysterious layer to these thrilling pas de deux.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

These semi-aquatic animals had canine teeth instead of a horn and barrel-shaped torsos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

In ’60s-style dresses, they pretend to apply lipstick, and touch their faces and torsos, as if trapped by expectations of femininity.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024

Robot limbs and torsos were flung onto ledges.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

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Related Words

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

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