Muscle Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms muscle American [muhs-uhl] / ˈmʌs əl /

noun

1. a tissue composed of cells or fibers, the contraction of which produces movement in the body.

2. an organ, composed of muscle tissue, that contracts to produce a particular movement.

3. muscular strength; brawn.

   It will take a great deal of muscle to move this box.

   Synonyms: force, might, vigor, power

4. power or force, especially of a coercive nature.

   They put muscle into their policy and sent the marines.

5. lean meat.

6. Slang.

   1. a hired thug or thugs.

   2. a bodyguard or bodyguards.

      a gangster protected by muscle.

7. a necessary or fundamental thing, quality, etc..

   The editor cut the muscle from the article.

verb (used with object)

muscled, muscling

1. Informal. to force or compel others to make way for.

   He muscled his way into the conversation.

2. to make more muscular.

   The dancing lessons muscled her legs.

3. to strengthen or toughen; put muscle into.

4. Informal. to accomplish by muscular force.

   to muscle the partition into place.

5. Informal. to force or compel, as by threats, promises, influence, or the like.

   to muscle a bill through Congress.

verb (used without object)

muscled, muscling

1. Informal. to make one's way by force or fraud (often followed by in orinto ).

adjective

1. Informal. (of a machine, engine, or vehicle) being very powerful or capable of high-speed performance.

   a muscle power saw.

muscle British / ˈmʌsəl /

noun

1. a tissue composed of bundles of elongated cells capable of contraction and relaxation to produce movement in an organ or part

2. an organ composed of muscle tissue

3. strength or force

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. informal (intr; often foll by in, on, etc) to force one's way (in)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 muscle Scientific / mŭs′əl /

1. A body tissue composed of sheets or bundles of cells that contract to produce movement or increase tension. Muscle cells contain filaments made of the proteins actin and myosin, which lie parallel to each other. When a muscle is signaled to contract, the actin and myosin filaments slide past each other in an overlapping pattern.

2. ◆ Skeletal muscle effects voluntary movement and is made up of bundles of elongated cells (muscle fibers), each of which contains many nuclei.

3. ◆ Smooth muscle provides the contractile force for the internal organs and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped and each contains a single nucleus.

4. ◆ Cardiac muscle makes up the muscle of the heart and consists of a meshwork of striated cells.

muscle Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing muscle

• flex one's muscles
• move a muscle

Other Word Forms

• muscleless adjective
• muscly adjective
• overmuscled adjective
• transmuscle noun
• unmuscled adjective

Etymology

Origin of muscle

1525–35; < Latin mūsculus literally, little mouse (from fancied resemblance to some muscles), equivalent to mūs mouse + -culus -cle 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An xAI recruiter described the approach as “Cut the fat. Build the muscle,” in a Friday post on X.

From MarketWatch

Symptoms of bird flu in mammals include tremors, convulsions, seizures and muscle weakness.

From Los Angeles Times

For example, mutations in genes that produce CoA transporters have been linked to encephalopmyopathy, a condition that may involve developmental delays, epilepsy, and reduced muscle tone.

From Science Daily

The wrist camera captures how every muscle moves as they chop vegetables, season and grill chicken and roll up their shawarmas.

From Los Angeles Times

Explaining how it works, Ghosh said small electrodes placed on the abdomen detected the activity of the muscle of the small intestine.

From BBC

Related Words

• clout
• energy
• stamina
• strength
• weight

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.