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

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Anatomy Terms

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

Rhymes with MUSCLE

bustle, hustle, mussel, rustle, tussle