muscle

American  

[muhs-uhl] / ˈmʌs əl /

noun

• muscles
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

• muscles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• muscled,
  past participle,  past
• muscling
  present participle

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)

• muscles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• muscled,
  past participle,  past
• muscling
  present participle

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

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verb

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

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.

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muscle Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing muscle

• flex one's muscles
• move a muscle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• muscles
  plural

Participles

• muscling
  present
• muscled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• muscle
  simple
• muscles
  simple
• have muscled
  perfect
• has muscled
  perfect
• am muscling
  progressive
• are muscling
  progressive
• is muscling
  progressive
• have been muscling
  perfect progressive
• has been muscling
  perfect progressive

Past

• muscled
  simple
• had muscled
  perfect
• was muscling
  progressive
• were muscling
  progressive
• had been muscling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will muscle
  simple
• will have muscled
  perfect
• will be muscling
  progressive
• will have been muscling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of muscle

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

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Explanation

Do you have the muscle to muscle your way to the top? Muscle is both a noun and verb associated with strength, power, or the use of physical force. In addition to biological muscle, like the biceps in your arms, muscle can refer simply to power or authority, as in “We have the muscle to get the job done.” Muscle can also refer to a hired thug. In a similar sense, muscle is used as a verb to mean “use force.” A bully might muscle someone out of their lunch money, or you might muscle your way through a crowd by pushing people out of your way.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

muscle muscles muscled muscling

According to the International Menopause Society, almost three in four women experience joint or muscle pain during perimenopause, while women are up to 70% more likely than men to experience chronic pain generally.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

They can include muscle and joint aches, stiffness and swelling, reduced strength and pins and needles.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

This helps return mTORC1 activity to a healthier balance, allowing muscle cells to remove damaged proteins while continuing to produce the new proteins they need.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Proteins form much of the machinery and structure within muscle cells, so this ongoing maintenance is essential for normal function.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Looking down at my arm, I said, “Aw, Grandma, my muscle is bigger than a quail’s egg. If it got any bigger, I couldn’t carry it around.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

The discovery may ultimately help researchers design interventions that complement physical activity, particularly for people whose muscles no longer respond as effectively to exercise.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The findings highlight an important distinction between simply stimulating muscle growth and maintaining the cellular systems that keep muscles healthy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Because muscles play an important role in metabolism, their deterioration can affect far more than physical strength.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Exercise does more than stimulate muscles to grow stronger.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Social behavior goes beyond the ability to activate the correct muscles or decode the right spoken sounds.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

The stock market has muscled through trade wars—and shooting wars—to hit new records.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

With the Wayans brothers firmly back in the driver’s seat, horror parody “Scary Movie” muscled its way past He-Man for the top spot at the box office this weekend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

Anthropic, run by the former OpenAI executive Dario Amodei, has muscled further into financial services since it launched a suite of tools catering to banks, financial-technology firms, and others last year.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

He muscled a brutal straight six over long-on off while hitting spinner Mohammad Nawaz for 17 in the sixth, before nudging singles after Banton nicked off to Usman Tariq.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

On the bright side, there were no lines and no admission fee, so they just muscled their way past the tour groups and walked on in.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

He tore his ACL in practice and, after muscling through that disappointment, is now a first-time feature director with “Voices,” a lean and loud musical-thriller about thwarted dreams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

On the whole, however, economists say there’s no sign AI is muscling people out of their jobs on a massive scale.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

From school and university canteens to football stadiums and theatres, venison is muscling in on beef as UK chefs hunt for greener options.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

As the operator, you can override the lane-change feature by muscling the car into a new lane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025

“You can’t just come in here, muscling about.”

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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