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

Etymology

Origin of muscle

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

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

But we also lose muscle strength and power as we age, a condition known as dynapenia, which affects reactivity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Enlli now experiences hot flushes, brain fog, joint and muscle pain and fatigue, and says it can be hard to identify which are from the menopause or effects of the chemotherapy.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

To a man and woman, they made themselves Earth’s protectors because they have the means and muscle to take on the job.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Those doses caused heart muscle cells to contract more strongly, but that effect ultimately proved less helpful.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

These areas integrate your sensory input and muscle actions so you keep oriented in space and in motion.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Balance training isn’t meant to replace regular exercise: the average adult still needs to do aerobic exercise for cardiovascular health, stretching for flexibility and strength training to build muscles and bone density.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Tai chi strengthens the lower-body and builds postural and core muscles — the body’s deep stabilizing muscles — though it does so gently, over time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

"You'll notice they each have more muscles than the rest of us put together."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Viral social media posts claim peptides can offer a range of seemingly miraculous benefits including glowing skin, stronger muscles, deeper sleep, a more alert mind -- and even provide an avenue to prevent ageing.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

With control of the muscles of the foot the toes may be brought down to the floor without any movement that is perceptible to the eye.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

With less than three minutes on the clock, prop Thomas du Toit, heading back to his homeland from Bath this summer, muscled through Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum to score from close range.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 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

The Greeks were in charge of Egypt for three centuries, before the Romans muscled their way in under Emperor Augustus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Murphy gave Niecy Nash-Betts enough space and material in “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” for her to deliver an award-winning performance that muscled to the fore.

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026

He’s taller than I thought and way more muscled, but not bulky.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon

That’s where Haaland appeared first, muscling past his defender to meet the ball with his head and power it into the goal’s bottom corner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Nineteen-year-old sensation Cooper Flagg appeared to have won it for Dallas, muscling through Wendell Carter Jr for a four-point lead with 37 seconds left.

From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026

That signals that geopolitical risks could be muscling their way into asset prices, potentially overshadowing positives from the economic cycle and corporate earnings.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 1, 2026

More recently, the daredevil actor has focused on warm-up stretches, muscling his eight-film franchise to its explosive finale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026

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

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

Related Words

• clout
• energy
• stamina
• strength
• weight