text: Masturbation is the act of getting yourself to reach orgasm without sexual intercourse, or oral stimulation(oral sex). Terms suchs as "jacking off" and "beating off" are the most common slang words for the act of masturbation.\n\nScientific answer:\n\nMasturbation is the manual excitation of the sexual organs, most often to the point of orgasm. It can refer to excitation either by oneself or by another (see mutual masturbation). It is part of a larger set of activities known as autoeroticism, which also includes the use of sex toys and non-genital stimulation. There are also masturbation machines used to simulate intercourse. Masturbation and sexual intercourse are the two most common sexual practices, but they are not mutually exclusive (for example, many people find the sight of their partner masturbating highly erotic). Some people are able to achieve orgasm only through masturbation and not sexual intercourse. In the animal kingdom, masturbation has been observed in many mammalian species, both in the wild and in captivity.