muster
- to assemble (troops, a ship's crew, etc.), as for battle, display, inspection, orders, or discharge.
- to gather, summon, rouse (often followed by up): He mustered all his courage.
- to assemble for inspection, service, etc., as troops or forces.
- to come together; collect; assemble; gather.
- an assembling of troops or persons for formal inspection or other purposes.
- an assemblage or collection.
- the act of mustering.
- Also called muster roll. (formerly) a list of the persons enrolled in a military or naval unit.
- muster in, to enlist into service in the armed forces.
- muster out, to discharge from service in the armed forces: He will be mustered out of the army in only two more months.
- pass muster,
- to pass a cursory inspection.
- to measure up to a certain standard; be adequate: Your grades don't pass muster.
Origin of muster
Synonyms
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Antonyms
must1
- to be obliged or bound to by an imperative requirement: I must keep my word.
- to be under the necessity to; need to: Animals must eat to live.
- to be required or compelled to, as by the use or threat of force: You must obey the law.
- to be compelled to in order to fulfill some need or achieve an aim: We must hurry if we're to arrive on time.
- to be forced to, as by convention or the requirements of honesty: I must say, that is a lovely hat.
- to be or feel urged to; ought to: I must buy that book.
- to be reasonably expected to; is bound to: It must have stopped raining by now. She must be at least 60.
- to be inevitably certain to; be compelled by nature: Everyone must die.
- to be obliged; be compelled: Do I have to go? I must, I suppose.
- Archaic. (sometimes used with ellipsis of go, get, or some similar verb readily understood from the context): We must away.
- necessary; vital: A raincoat is must clothing in this area.
- something necessary, vital, or required: This law is a must.
Origin of must1
Synonyms
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roundupassemblycongeriescrowdcompanyrosterconvocationaggregationcollectiongroupdraftrallymeetingrollassemblagemobilizationenrollorganizeraisecongressExamples from the Web for muster
Contemporary Examples
Unfortunately, the best response we can muster might be much harder than a band-aid or hidden camera.
Rising to retrieve it, I offer her what meager reassurance I can muster.
But two years after that, UFW walked away from its negotiations with Gerawan, unable to muster adequate worker support.
Yet, relative to the massive amount of attention, shock, and criticism, I can only muster a shrug and a plea to chill out.
The upside is that we might muster the political will to develop policies that match reality.
Historical Examples
For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America.
And yet in the end Pop was able to muster a fairly good imitation of a frown.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
He also thought it good policy to display all the assurance he could muster.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
Kirkwood acceded, perforce; and bided his time with what tolerance he could muster.
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
He did what he could to muster a smile, and returned, 'Your fancy.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
muster
- to call together (numbers of men) for duty, inspection, etc, or (of men) to assemble in this way
- US
- muster into enlist into military service
- muster outto discharge from military service
- (tr) Australian and NZ to round up (livestock)
- (tr sometimes foll by up) to summon or gatherto muster one's arguments; to muster up courage
- an assembly of military personnel for duty, inspection, etc
- a collection, assembly, or gathering
- Australian and NZ the rounding up of livestock
- a flock of peacocks
- pass muster to be acceptable
Word Origin
must1
- used as an auxiliary to express obligation or compulsion: you must pay your dues . In this sense, must does not form a negative. If used with a negative infinitive it indicates obligatory prohibition
- used as an auxiliary to indicate necessityI must go to the bank tomorrow
- used as an auxiliary to indicate the probable correctness of a statementhe must be there by now
- used as an auxiliary to indicate inevitabilityall good things must come to an end
- (used as an auxiliary to express resolution)
- on the part of the speaker when used with I or weI must finish this
- on the part of another or others as imputed to them by the speaker, when used with you, he, she, they, etclet him get drunk if he must
- (used emphatically) used as an auxiliary to express conviction or certainty on the part of the speakerhe must have reached the town by now, surely; you must be joking
- (foll by away) used with an implied verb of motion to express compelling hasteI must away
- an essential or necessary thingstrong shoes are a must for hill walking
Word Origin
must2
- mustiness or mould
Word Origin
must3
- the newly pressed juice of grapes or other fruit ready for fermentation
Word Origin
must4
- a variant spelling of musth
Word Origin and History for muster
v.
c.1300, "to display, reveal, appear," from Old French mostrer "appear, show, reveal," also in a military sense (10c., Modern French montrer), from Latin monstrare "to show," from monstrum "omen, sign" (see monster). Meaning "to collect, assemble" is early 15c.; figurative use (of qualities, etc.) is from 1580s. To muster out "gather to be discharged from military service" is 1834, American English. To muster up in the figurative and transferred sense of "gather, summon, marshal" is from 1620s. Related: Mustered; mustering.
n.
late 14c., "action of showing, manifestation," from Old French mostre "illustration, proof; examination, inspection" (13c., Modern French montre), literally "that which is shown," from mostrer (see muster (v.)). Meaning "act of gathering troops" is from c.1400. To pass musters (1570s) originally meant "to undergo military review without censure."
must
v.
Old English moste, past tense of motan "have to, be able to," from Proto-Germanic *mot- "ability, leisure (to do something)" (cf. Old Saxon motan "to be obliged to, have to," Old Frisian mota, Middle Low German moten, Dutch moeten, German müssen "to be obliged to," Gothic gamotan "to have room to, to be able to"), perhaps from PIE root *med- "to measure, to take appropriate measures" (see medical (adj.)). Used as present tense from c.1300, from the custom of using past subjunctive as a moderate or polite form of the present.
must
n.1
"new wine," Old English must, from Latin mustum (also source of Old High German, German most, Old French moust, Modern French moût, Spanish, Italian mosto), short for vinum mustum "fresh wine," neuter of mustus "fresh, new, newborn," perhaps literally "wet," and from PIE *mus-to-, from root *meus- "damp" (see moss).
must
n.2
"mold," c.1600, perhaps a back-formation of musty (q.v.).
must
n.3
"male elephant frenzy," 1871, from Urdu mast "intoxicated, in rut," from Persian mast, literally "intoxicated," related to Sanskrit matta- "drunk, intoxicated," past participle of madati "boils, bubbles, gets drunk," from PIE root *mad- "wet, moist" (see mast (n.2)).
must
n.4
"that which has to be done, seen, or experienced," 1892, from must (v.). As an adjective, "obligatory, indispensable," by 1912, from the noun; must-read is from 1959.
Idioms and Phrases with muster
muster
In addition to the idiom beginning with muster
- muster in
also see:
- pass muster
must
see a must; show must go on.