move a muscle

Idioms  

1. Bestir oneself even slightly. This idiom is usually put negatively, either with implied criticism, as in She won't move a muscle to help get dinner, or not, as in When I saw the deer, I stayed quite still, not daring to move a muscle. It was first recorded in 1889.

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Example Sentences

“Thirty seconds passed by. I knew if I swallowed water I’d be done for. I was able to keep my head up, floating out of the water, but I was stuck in the rubble and couldn’t move a muscle.”

From Literature

Clearly, they coped extremely well, and newly confirmed number one Hampton barely had to move a muscle.

From BBC

I’ve been here for a while and I haven’t seen it move a muscle.

From Salon

Brain-computer interface devices work by recording brain activities associated with a function, such as speech or movement, and use them to control an external device without having to move a muscle.

From Science Daily

He started walking, but Brooklyn didn’t move a muscle.

From Literature