Torque, moment, or moment of force (see the below) is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object. Mathematically, torque is defined as the cross product of the vector by which the force's application point is offset relative to the fixed suspension point (distance vector) and the force vector, which tends to produce rotation. Loosely speaking, torque is a measure of the turning force on an object such as a bolt or a flywheel. For example, pushing or pulling the handle of a wrench connected to a nut or bolt produces a torque (turning force) that loosens or tightens the nut or bolt. The symbol for torque is typically , the lowercase Greek letter tau. When it is called moment of force, it is commonly denoted by M. The magnitude of torque depends on three quantities: the force applied, the length of the lever arm connecting the axis to the point of force application, and the angle between the force vector and the lever arm. In symbols: where is the torque vector and is the magnitude of the torque,r is the position vector (a vector from the origin of the coordinate system defined to the point where the force is applied)F is the force vector,× denotes the cross product,θ is the angle between the force vector and the lever arm vector. The SI unit for torque is the newton metre (N⋅m). For more on the units of torque, see Units.

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