a tissue composed of bundles of elongated cells capable of contraction and relaxation to produce movement in an organ or part an organ composed of muscle tissue strength or force
- (intr; often followed by in, on, etc)
to force one's way (in)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
mus•cle /ˈmʌsəl/USA pronunciation
n., v., -cled, -cling.
n.
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n.
- Anatomya tissue in the body made up of long cells that can contract, causing movement of the body: [countable]His leg muscles had grown weak from his stay in the hospital.[uncountable]to cut through muscle to get to the diseased organ.
- [uncountable] muscular strength;
brawn. - power or force:[uncountable]to put muscle into our foreign policy.
v.
- Informal Termsto make one's way by force:[~ + in on + object]Our competitors are muscling in on our territory.
- Informal Termsto push or move by force:[~ + object]to muscle the car out of the ditch.
mus•cle
(mus′əl),USA pronunciation n., v., -cled, -cling, adj.
n.
v.t.
v.i.
adj.
mus′cle•less, adj.
mus′cly, adj.
n.
- Anatomya tissue composed of cells or fibers, the contraction of which produces movement in the body.
- Anatomyan organ, composed of muscle tissue, that contracts to produce a particular movement.
- muscular strength;
brawn:It will take a great deal of muscle to move this box. - power or force, esp. of a coercive nature:They put muscle into their policy and sent the marines.
- lean meat.
- Slang Terms
- a hired thug or thugs.
- a bodyguard or bodyguards:a gangster protected by muscle.
- a necessary or fundamental thing, quality, etc.:The editor cut the muscle from the article.
v.t.
- Informal Termsto force or compel others to make way for:He muscled his way into the conversation.
- to make more muscular:The dancing lessons muscled her legs.
- to strengthen or toughen;
put muscle into. - Informal Termsto accomplish by muscular force:to muscle the partition into place.
- Informal Termsto force or compel, as by threats, promises, influence, or the like:to muscle a bill through Congress.
v.i.
- Informal Termsto make one's way by force or fraud (often fol. by in or into).
adj.
- Informal Terms(of a machine, engine, or vehicle) being very powerful or capable of high-speed performance:a muscle power saw.
- Latin mūsculus literally, little mouse (from fancied resemblance to some muscles), equivalent. to mūs mouse + -culus -cle1
- 1525–35
mus′cly, adj.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged power, vigor, might, force.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'muscle tissue' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
dermatomyositis
- electroplaque
- fibril
- fitness
- lactic acid
- muscle
- muscle sense
- myoblast
- myogenic
- myopathy
- rhabdomyosarcoma
- smooth muscle
- tonus
- trichina
- troponin