Definitions for muscle
ˈmʌs əlmus·cle

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Musclenoun

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

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

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(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. musclenoun

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

   Muscle consists largely of actin and myosin filaments.

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

2. musclenoun

   An organ composed of muscle tissue.

   The muscles in his legs strained under the load.

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

3. musclenoun

   Strength.

   It took a lot of muscle to move the boulders.

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

4. musclenoun

   Hired strongmen or bodyguards.

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

5. muscleverb

   To use force to make progress, especially physical force.

   He muscled his way through the crowd.

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

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Musclenoun

   an organ which, by its contraction, produces motion

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

2. Musclenoun

   the contractile tissue of which muscles are largely made up

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

3. Musclenoun

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

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

4. Musclenoun

   see Mussel

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

Freebase(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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

How to pronounce muscle?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

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. Antonin Scalia:

   Bear in mind that brains and learning, like muscle and physical skill, are articles of commerce. They are bought and sold. You can hire them by the year or by the hour. The only thing in the world not for sale is character.

2. Christopher Mendias:

   If you look at the mechanics in terms of the strength of that new ligament that you put in, it’s pretty good, the problem is the muscle weakness that occurs after that surgery. By the time athletes are able to return to the field or court, the side that had the ACL tear is about 40 percent weaker.

3. Jessica Scott:

   It was surprising when we looked at similarities between astronauts during spaceflight and cancer patients during treatment. Both have a decrease in muscle mass, and they have bone demineralization and changes in heart function, astronauts may get something called space fog, where they have trouble focusing or get a little forgetful. That's very similar to what some cancer patients experience, which is called chemo brain.

4. Barry Pavel:

   Russia (is) flexing its military muscle, identifying the United States and NATO as the enemy. That feeling is not reciprocated, but we have a Russia that is starting to throw its military weight around, and in some ways, looking for provocations, i think this could be very dangerous, and create a crisis, where one didn't need to exist.

5. Dave Phillips:

   This is really important because, as we age -- especially in our 50s, 60s and 70s -- we lose muscle mass, also, without strength, you can't really use your mobility. You need that base of strength behind your range of motion.

Images & Illustrations of muscle

Popularity rank by frequency of use