torso
Americannoun
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the trunk of the human body.
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a sculptured form representing the trunk of a nude female or male figure.
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something mutilated or incomplete.
noun
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the trunk of the human body
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a statue of a nude human trunk, esp without the head or limbs
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something regarded as incomplete or truncated
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.
Vocabulary lists containing torso
The Crossover
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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"A Rose for Emily"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
“I’m sorry about my ugly appearance,” a preteen Kaley said in a YouTube video played in court Thursday morning, urgently repeating, “I look so fat,” while panning the camera over her slender torso.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
"When we got there we saw what looked like a log of wood and that transpired to be a torso, which had stayed exactly where it had gone in. Which was quite remarkable."
From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026
Magdalys went for the neck and Two Step hurled onto the dactyl’s torso.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
