muscle memory

noun

: the ability to repeat a specific muscular movement with improved efficiency and accuracy that is acquired through practice and repetition

Hitting the golf ball requires strength, flexibility, coordination and muscle memory.

—Al Barkow

They practice their routines with mind-numbing repetitiveness, for hours and days, weeks and years, so that each spinning, twisting landing off the high bar becomes an act of muscle memory.

—E. M. Swift

Examples of muscle memory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These commitments build the organizational muscle memory required to maintain judgment when firms are under stress, market narratives shift overnight or geopolitical shocks reorder supply chains. — Peter Doyle, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

The footwork focus is meant to create muscle memory. — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 18 June 2026

The process requires muscle memory, and your fingers need to be familiar with the sensation of applying the right amount. — Laura Manzano, Martha Stewart, 5 June 2026

Over time, this could build the muscle memory needed to make trade-offs that benefit the company over any individual department’s interests. — Adrienne Down Coulson, Fortune, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for muscle memory

• emery