flexion

IPA/ˈflekʃn/
KK[flˈɛkʃən]IPA/ˈflekʃn/

flexion — noun

1. a movement in which a joint bends and the two connected parts move closer togeth

1.nounC1
Definition

a movement in which a joint bends and the two connected parts move closer together

Example

The therapist measured Lara's knee flexion after she slipped on the wet stairs.

flexion of + joint

Daily stretches gradually improved Hui's hip flexion before the dance audition.

limited/full + flexion

Common collocations
  • knee flexion
  • hip flexion
  • limited flexion
  • full flexion
Synonyms
  • bending

    the everyday word, less technical and not limited to joints

  • flexing

    often focuses on the action of muscles or repeated movement rather than the measured joint position

  • curling

    suggests making something rounder or drawing it inward, not necessarily an anatomical measurement

Antonyms
  • extension

    the opposite movement, where the joint opens and the angle becomes larger

Grammar Patterns

flexion of + joint/body part

limited/full + flexion

Usage Note

Common in medicine, sports training, and physical therapy. It often appears with a body part after 'of', and writers frequently describe it as limited, full, or painful.

Common Mistakes

My knee cannot flexion fully yet.
My knee cannot bend fully yet.
'flexion' is a noun, so it cannot be used as the verb in the sentence.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, 'flexion' is the technical term for a bending movement at a joint, so it is common in medical notes, exercise coaching, and physical therapy. 'Bending' is the ordinary everyday word and can describe many kinds of curving movement, whether a person bends a knee or someone bends a wire. 'Flexing' often points more to the active movement or tightening of muscles, especially when the action is repeated in training. 'Curling' usually suggests drawing something inward into a rounder shape, such as curling fingers or hair, and it does not sound as clinical. A therapist may record limited knee flexion after an injury, while a parent would simply say the child cannot bend the knee very far.

bending ↗flexing ↗curling ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • knee flexion
  • flexion of the elbow
  • range of flexion
  • limited flexion

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinLate LatinEnglish

Flexion comes from Latin 'flexio', which meant a bending or turning, and it is related to the verb 'flectere', meaning 'to bend'. English kept it as a formal learned word, so today it appears most often in anatomy, physical therapy, and movement science when people describe how a joint or limb bends.