muscle

¹mus·cle

noun, often attributive \ˈmə-səl\

Definition of MUSCLE

1

a : a body tissue consisting of long cells that contract when stimulated and produce motion

b : an organ that is essentially a mass of muscle tissue attached at either end to a fixed point and that by contracting moves or checks the movement of a body part

2

a : muscular strength : brawn

b : effective strength : power <political muscle>

Examples of MUSCLE

1. the muscles of the arm
2. an athlete with bulging muscles
3. He pulled a muscle playing tennis.
4. She has a strained muscle in her back.
5. She started lifting weights to build muscle.
6. She doesn't have the muscle to lift something so heavy.

Origin of MUSCLE

Middle English, from Latin musculus, from diminutive of mus mouse — more at mouse

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to MUSCLE

Synonyms

beef, brawn, main, thew

Antonyms

impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness

Related Words

force, might, potency, power, puissance, sinew; energy, vigor

Near Antonyms

impotence, impotency, weakness; debilitation, debility, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, infirmity

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

Rhymes with MUSCLE

bustle, hustle, mussel, rustle, tussle

²muscle

verb

mus·cledmus·cling \ˈmə-s(ə-)liŋ\

Definition of MUSCLE

transitive verb

: to move or force by or as if by muscular effort <muscled him out of office>

intransitive verb

: to make one's way by brute strength or by force

Examples of MUSCLE

1. They muscled the heavy boxes onto the truck.
2. They muscled the furniture up the stairs.
3. He muscled through the crowd.
4. They muscled into line behind us.

First Known Use of MUSCLE

1913

Related to MUSCLE

Synonyms

blackjack, coerce, compel, constrain, dragoon, drive, impel, impress, make, force, obligate, oblige, press, pressure, sandbag

Related Words

browbeat, bulldoze, bully, cow, hector, intimidate; blackmail, high-pressure, menace, shame, terrorize, threaten; drag; badger, harass, hound

Near Antonyms

allow, let, permit; argue, convince, induce, move, persuade, prevail (on or upon), satisfy, talk (into), win (over)

Rhymes with MUSCLE

bustle, hustle, rustle, tussle

mus·cle

noun , often attrib \ˈməs-əl\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of MUSCLE

1

: a body tissue consisting of long cells that contract when stimulated and produce motion—see cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, striated muscle

2

: an organ that is essentially a mass of muscle tissue attached at either end to a fixed point and that by contracting moves or checks the movement of a body part—see agonist 1, antagonist a, synergist 2

Illustration of MUSCLE

muscle

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Major muscles of the human body. (1) frontalis, (2) occipitalis, (3) temporalis, (4) orbicularis of …—© Merriam-Webster Inc.

Contractile tissue that produces motion for functions, including body movements, digestion, focusing, circulation, and body warmth. It can be classified as striated, cardiac, and smooth or as phasic and tonic (responding quickly or gradually to stimulation, respectively). Striated muscle, whose fibres appear striped under a microscope, is responsible for voluntary movement. Most of these muscles are phasic. They are attached to the skeleton and move the body by contracting in response to signals from the central nervous system; contraction is achieved by the sliding of thin filaments (of actin) between thick ones (of myosin); stretch receptors in the tissue provide feedback, allowing smooth motion and fine motor control. The branched fibres of cardiac muscle give it a netlike structure; contraction originates in the heart's muscle tissue itself with a signal from the natural pacemaker; vagus and sympathetic nerves control heart rate. Smooth muscle, the muscle of internal organs and blood vessels, is generally involuntary and tonic; its cells can operate either collectively or individually (in response to separate nerve endings) and have different shapes. Disorders of voluntary muscle cause weakening, atrophy, pain, and twitching. Some systemic diseases (e.g., dermatomyositis, polymyositis) can cause muscle inflammation. See also abdominal muscle; muscle tumour; muscular dystrophy; myasthenia gravis.