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

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

Leverkusen were not happy with the penalty award as Malik Tillman's torso seemed to make contact with Madueke's foot as he dribbled into the box.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

The recovering Mr. Flux’s limbs and torso retracted quickly from his smooshed, flapjack form to something resembling a human.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

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

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

"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

In 1993, to raise awareness about breast cancer, she made plaster casts of hundreds of women’s torsos and placed them in a cemetery-like installation on a lawn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025

The corps de ballet is another anchor as couples move in unison turns, dip their torsos forward or take steps on their heels.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

Graybeak brought us to the roof windows, and we looked down into the factory and saw machines building sparkling heads and torsos and limbs.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

Related Words

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