Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A form of therapeutic massage in which pressure is applied with the thumbs and palms to those areas of the body used in acupuncture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A form of massage, using the thumbs and palms, employed as therapy

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun treatment of symptoms by applying pressure with the fingers to specific pressure points on the body

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for Japanese shiatsuryōhō : shi, finger + atsu-, pressure + ryōhō, treatment.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Japanese 指圧 (shiatsu). Literally "finger pressure".

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Examples

  • She was doing shiatsu, which is a type of massage that concentrates on relieving blocked energy from the body.

    The Book of the Heart Carrie Asai 2004

  • She was doing shiatsu, which is a type of massage that concentrates on relieving blocked energy from the body.

    The Book of the Heart Carrie Asai 2004

  • She was doing shiatsu, which is a type of massage that concentrates on relieving blocked energy from the body.

    The Book of the Heart Carrie Asai 2004

  • She was doing shiatsu, which is a type of massage that concentrates on relieving blocked energy from the body.

    The Book of the Heart Carrie Asai 2004

  • Had my mobile phone not been removed on arrival, I would have called my shiatsu man and told him what I thought about the "physical benefits".

    New Statesman 2010

  • As to asking permission, the "shiatsu" guy said yes too.

    Madison, last night and now. Ann Althouse 2006

  • Well, one company thinks so highly of the practice that they're willing to sell you a device that will perform a 'shiatsu' finger massage for the cool price of $2,000.

    Gadgetreview 2008

  • Massage therapies such as shiatsu, Swedish and others have been shown to reduce stress, increase awareness and induce relaxation.

    xml's Blinklist.com 2008

  • "This technique is very different from traditional shiatsu, which is somewhat painful.

    The Prague Post 2009

  • Health Centre it's a centre where they run classes in yoga and shiatsu and dancing, 5 rhythms, belly dancing, tai chi, everything so if I get bored ... er ... no

    An interview with Louise Rennison 2010

Comments

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  • JM has discovered that shiatsu is getting knead in the back.

    August 26, 2011