muscle
muscle
/ˈmʌsl/
1 countable, uncountable a piece of body tissue that you make tight and relax in order to move a particular part of the body; the tissue that forms the muscles of the body a calf/neck/thigh muscle
All of this put strain on the heart muscle.
to pull/tear/strain a muscle
He poses and flexes his muscles in the mirror.
This exercise will work the muscles of the lower back.
Contract and relax the muscles in your fingers a few times.
She tried to relax her tense muscles.
He felt every muscle in his body tighten.
He didn't move a muscle (= stood completely still).
Lift weights to build muscle.
muscle fibre/tissue/mass
Collocations
adjective
verb + muscle
muscle + verb
muscle + noun
preposition
muscle in
He's an intelligent player but lacks the muscle of older competitors.
I exerted every ounce of my miserable muscle power.
3 uncountable the power and influence to make others do what you want to exercise political/industrial/financial muscle
The countries tried to flex their collective muscle.
This show gives the artist the chance to flex his creative muscle.
Word Origin
late Middle English: from French, from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus ‘mouse’ (some muscles being thought to be mouse-like in form).
e.g.
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