What does muscle mean?

Definitions for muscle
ˈmʌs əlmus·cle

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word muscle.

Princeton's WordNet

  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"

GCIDE

  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.

Wiktionary

  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 Dictionary

  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.

    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.

Wikipedia

  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.

ChatGPT

  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 Dictionary

  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).]

Wikidata

  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 Dictionary

  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 Contribution

  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  

Entomology

  1. Muscle

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

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

How to pronounce muscle?

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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. Serena Williams:

    Unfortunately I'm having some issues with my pec muscle. Right now I can't actually serve it's kind of hard to play, i'm having an MRI( scan) tomorrow, I'm going to stay here to see the doctors and see as many specialists as I can. I won't know( how serious the injury is) until I get those results.

  2. Brooke Stacey:

    Once I found out that the bubble was taking place at the end of January, I was like, ‘OK, this gives me a month to really get going, to get back to the gym and start rebuilding my muscle, rebuilding my cardio and all that, coming back so soon after giving birth, it feels pretty great.

  3. Suzy Kassem:

    The man armed with knowledge has a better chance of survival than the man who is simply the fittest. Knowledge is the true strength. Muscle is where the myth is.

  4. Anthony Liccione:

    Had it not been for empty, there would have been nothing to fill. Nothing to struggle with,  strive for or dream. Although fulfillment is our ending destiny, it's the getting there that builds character. That puts muscle in faith, and sweats out victory. Vigilance is the empty, that pushes all our nothings into something.

  5. Jacqueline Sperling:

    One can sometimes determine the emotion someone is communicating just by seeing the eyes, practice in front of a mirror at home. See what that looks like, remember through muscle memory.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for muscle

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"muscle." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/muscle>.

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