muscle memory

noun

: the ability to repeat a specific muscular movement with improved efficiency and accuracy that is acquired through practice and repetition
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
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Thankfully, muscle memory kicked in. James Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025 Hybrid-resilient architecture—local backups that can kick in like muscle memory when the cloud chokes. Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 In a few short hours, some attendees had flexed their muscle memory to speed run through two-thirds of the game. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2025 Mario Kart veterans must spend time unlearning their drifting muscle memory due to Air Riders' wildly different angles and timing. PC Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for muscle memory

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of muscle memory was in 1890

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Cite this Entry

“Muscle memory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muscle%20memory. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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