voluntary muscle
Americannoun
Usage
What are voluntary muscles? A voluntary muscle is a muscle that you choose to move, like those in the arms and legs, as opposed to the ones that move automatically, like the heart. Muscle is the tissue in animals that produces movement or motion. Voluntary means done out of free will or by choice. Voluntary muscles are also often called skeletal muscles (because all of the muscles attached to the skeleton are voluntary muscles) or striated muscles (because the muscle fibers make them look striated, or stripy). Example: Around 40 percent of a human’s body mass is made up of voluntary muscles.
Etymology
Origin of voluntary muscle
First recorded in 1780–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It causes the loss of cells which control voluntary muscle movements and, eventually, patients lose their ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
One large part of the cortex, the motor cortex, is known to control the body's voluntary muscle movements, including those involved in speech, while another large section, the auditory cortex, is known to control hearing.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2024
Scientists who subscribed to the active muscle contractions theory believed that when cats purr in response to being comfortable or, conversely, to feeling stressed, they do so as a voluntary muscle contraction.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2023
ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosisis, is a progressive, degenerative disease that destroys the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
The work lacks also, in this first edition, a statement and discussion of the important all-or-none principle which is now applicable to voluntary muscle, probably, and to the neurones.
From The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Volume 10 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
