Definitions for muscle
ˈmʌs əlmus·cle

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. muscle, musculusnoun

   one of the contractile organs of the body

2. muscle, muscular tissuenoun

   animal tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells

3. muscleman, musclenoun

   a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard

   "the drug lord had his muscleman to protect him"

4. musclenoun

   authority or power or force (especially when used in a coercive way)

   "the senators used their muscle to get the party leader to resign"

5. brawn, brawniness, muscle, muscularity, sinew, heftinessverb

   possessing muscular strength

6. muscleverb

   make one's way by force

   "He muscled his way into the office"

GCIDERate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Musclenoun

   An essential part of something; as, budget cuts have gone beyond the fat and are cutting into the muscle of the government.

2. muscleverb

   To compel by threat of force; as, they muscled the shopkeeper into paying protection money.

3. muscleverb

   To moved by human force; as, to muscle the piano onto the truck.

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. musclenoun

   A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.

   Muscle consists largely of actin and myosin filaments.

2. musclenoun

   An organ composed of muscle tissue.

   The muscles in his legs strained under the load.

3. musclenoun

   Strength.

   It took a lot of muscle to move the boulders.

4. musclenoun

   Hired strongmen or bodyguards.

5. muscleverb

   To use force to make progress, especially physical force.

   He muscled his way through the crowd.

6. Etymology: From muscle, from musculus, because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from μῦς. Cognate with mus. More at mouse.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. MUSCLEnoun

   Muscle is a bundle of thin and parallel plates of fleshy threads or fibres, inclosed by one common membrane: all the fibres of the same plate are parallel to one another, and tied together at extremely little distances by short and transverse fibres: the fleshy fibres are composed of other smaller fibres, inclosed likewise by a common membrane: each lesser fibre consists of very small vesicles or bladders, into which we suppose the veins, arteries and nerves to open, for every muscle receives branches of all those vessels, which must be distributed to every fibre: the two ends of each muscle or the extremities of the fibres are, in the limbs of animals, fastened to two bones, the one moveable, the other fixed; and therefore, when the muscles contract, they draw the moveable bone according to the direction of their fibres. John Quincy

   Etymology: muscle, Fr. musculus, Lat. muscula , Sax.

   The instruments of motion are the muscles, the fibres whereof, contracting themselves, move the several parts of the body. John Locke.

   2. A bivalve shell-fish.

   Of shell-fish, there are wrinkles, limpers, cockles and muscles. Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall.

   It is the observation of Aristotle , that oysters and muscles grow fuller in the waxing of the moon. George Hakewill.

   Two pair of small muscle shells was found in a limestone quarry. John Woodward, on Fossils.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. muscle

   Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle tissue, and are often known as muscle fibers. The muscle tissue of a skeletal muscle is striated – having a striped appearance due to the arrangement of the sarcomeres. Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles under the control of the somatic nervous system. The other types of muscle are cardiac muscle which is also striated and smooth muscle which is non-striated; both of these types of muscle tissue are classified as involuntary, or, under the control of the autonomic nervous system.A skeletal muscle contains multiple fascicles – bundles of muscle fibers. Each individual fiber, and each muscle is surrounded by a type of connective tissue layer of fascia. Muscle fibers are formed from the fusion of developmental myoblasts in a process known as myogenesis resulting in long multinucleated cells. In these cells the nuclei termed myonuclei are located along the inside of the cell membrane. Muscle fibers also have multiple mitochondria to meet energy needs. Muscle fibers are in turn composed of myofibrils. The myofibrils are composed of actin and myosin filaments called myofilaments, repeated in units called sarcomeres, which are the basic functional, contractile units of the muscle fiber necessary for muscle contraction. Muscles are predominantly powered by the oxidation of fats and carbohydrates, but anaerobic chemical reactions are also used, particularly by fast twitch fibers. These chemical reactions produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules that are used to power the movement of the myosin heads.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. muscle

   A muscle is a type of soft tissue in animals that produces force and motion. It is characterized by its ability to contract, generally in response to neurological stimuli. Muscles are essential for bodily functions such as locomotion, maintaining posture, and controlling bodily movements including heart contraction, swallowing, and breathing.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Musclenoun

   an organ which, by its contraction, produces motion

2. Musclenoun

   the contractile tissue of which muscles are largely made up

3. Musclenoun

   muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle by lifting a heavy weight

4. Musclenoun

   see Mussel

5. Etymology: [F., fr. L. musculus a muscle, a little mouse, dim. of mus a mouse. See Mouse, and cf. sense 3 (below).]

FreebaseRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Muscle

   Muscle is a soft tissue found in most animals. Muscle cells contain protein filaments that slide past one another, producing a contraction that changes both the length and the shape of the cell. Muscles function to produce force and motion. They are primarily responsible for maintenance of and changes in posture, locomotion of the organism itself, as well as movement of internal organs, such as the contraction of the heart and movement of food through the digestive system via peristalsis. Muscle tissues are derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells in a process known as myogenesis. There are three types of muscle; classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. These types of muscles are split down into two more different classifications: voluntary and involuntary. Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction muscles occur without conscious thought and are thought to be essential for survival. Muscles are predominantly powered by the oxidation of fats and carbohydrates, but anaerobic chemical reactions are also used, particularly by fast twitch fibers. These chemical reactions produce adenosine triphosphate molecules which are used to power the movement of the myosin heads.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Muscle

   mus′l, n. an animal tissue consisting of bundles of fibres through whose contractility bodily movement is effected, the fibres of the voluntary muscles being striped, those of the involuntary (of intestinal canal, blood-vessels, and of skin) unstriped.—adj. Mus′cled, supplied with muscles.—ns. Mus′cle-read′ing, the interpretation of slight involuntary muscular movements; Mus′cling, the delineation of muscles, as in a picture; Musculā′tion, the arrangement of muscles of a body; Musculos′ity.—adj. Mus′culous, pertaining to muscle: full of muscles, strong. [Fr.,—L. musculus, dim. of mus, a mouse, a muscle.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. muscle

   A type of organ and matter within the body of an animal or human being.

   Muscles are a vital part of the human body.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 29, 2020  

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Muscle

   the fleshy fibres of the insect body that serve to move the appendages and other body organs.

Matched Categories

1. • Authority
   • Bully
   • Contractile Organ
   • Pass

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'muscle' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4156

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'muscle' in Nouns Frequency: #1156

Anagrams for muscle »

1. clumse

How to pronounce muscle?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say muscle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of muscle in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of muscle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of muscle in a Sentence

1. Ruth Gordon:

   Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.

2. Thomas Carlyle:

   A man with a half volition goes backwards and forwards, and makes no way on the smoothest road a man with a whole volition advances on the roughest, and will reach his purpose, if there be even a little worthiness in it. The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life and having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.

3. Joseph Costello:

   To increase muscle size, you need muscle damage and repair; that's just the body's natural regeneration process. However, if cold water or (cryotherapy) blunt the inflammatory response, you may not get (muscle building).

4. Julie Cote:

   So the results of this study when we measured muscle activity in walking we show lower muscle activity amplitude, we show more variable muscle activity patterns and we show less co-activation all with no impact on productivity on the typing performance.

5. Martin Hoffman:

   When someone runs 26 miles, the blood supply to the skin and muscle increases tremendously, because they need a lot of oxygen, it's estimated that up to 25% of blood ends up going to skin and muscle, and when this happens, that means the blood is getting diverted from other organs. So, while the skin and muscle are perfused at a higher rate, the kidneys are receiving a reduced blood supply.

Popularity rank by frequency of use