muscle

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈmʌs.əl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

mussel /ˈmʌsəl/

Freq #3884

Meanings

1

noun
One of the parts of the body that produce movement by tightening and relaxing.

Lifting weights helps you build stronger muscles.
2

noun
Physical strength.

It took a lot of muscle to move the heavy piano.
3

noun
Power or influence, especially used to force others.

The senators used their muscle to force the leader to resign.
4

verb
To push your way forward using force.

They muscled their way into the crowded office.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · physical strength. strength force

Word family

Forms musclesmuscling

Derived forms hypermuscleintermusclemuscle-boundmuscle-prismmuscle-queenmuscle-upmusclebikemuscleblindmuscleboundmusclebrainmuscledmuscledom

Related forms mousemyologymyotomy

Appears in

Phrases (7)

See all

flaccid muscles
muscles with little tone that feel limp rather than firm

Adjective + noun
abductor muscle
a muscle that moves a body part away from the body's central line

Noun + noun
extensor muscle
a muscle that straightens a joint or extends part of the body

Noun + noun
flexor muscle
a muscle that bends a joint when it contracts

Noun + noun
ocular muscle
a muscle that moves the eyeball

Adjective + noun
sternocleidomastoid muscle
a large neck muscle that helps turn and bend the head

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Muscle entered English through French in the 14th century and derives from Latin musculus, literally “little mouse,” from mus, “mouse.” The Romans used the word for a muscle because they saw a resemblance between a flexing upper-arm muscle and the movements of a mouse.

Etymology

From Middle English muscle, muscule, muskylle, and in part from Middle French muscle, from Latin mūsculus (“a muscle”, literally “little mouse”) because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs (“mouse”). Doublet of mussel. More at mouse.

muscle Middle English mūsculus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# muscle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈmʌs.əl/
**Frequency rank:** 3884

## Meanings
1. One of the parts of the body that produce movement by tightening and relaxing.
2. Physical strength.
3. Power or influence, especially used to force others.
4. To push your way forward using force.

## Examples
- Lifting weights helps you build stronger muscles.
- It took a lot of muscle to move the heavy piano.
- The senators used their muscle to force the leader to resign.
- They muscled their way into the crowded office.

## Derived Forms
- hypermuscle
- intermuscle
- muscle-bound
- muscle-prism
- muscle-queen
- muscle-up
- musclebike
- muscleblind
- musclebound
- musclebrain
- muscled
- muscledom

## Related Forms
- mouse
- myology
- myotomy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: muscle
- Root: mūsculus

## Etymology
From Middle English muscle, muscule, muskylle, and in part from Middle French muscle, from Latin mūsculus (“a muscle”, literally “little mouse”) because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs (“mouse”). Doublet of mussel. More at mouse.

## AI Etymology
Muscle comes from Middle English muscle, muscule, muskylle, and in part from Middle French muscle, from Latin mūsculus (“a muscle”, literally “little mouse”) because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs (“mouse”). Doublet of mussel. More at mouse. In present-day English its meanings include one of the parts of the body that produce movement by tightening and relaxing, physical strength, and power or influence, especially used to force others. The historical chain runs through muscle (Middle English), muscle (Middle French), and mūsculus (Latin). Related and derived forms include mouse, myology, myotomy, and hypermuscle.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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