muscle

UK: /ˈmʌs^əl/ US: /ˈmʌsəl/ ,(mus′əl)

Inflections of 'muscle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

muscles

v 3rd person singular

muscling

v pres p

muscled

v past

muscled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mus•cle /ˈmʌsəl/   n., v., -cled, -cling. 
n. 

1. Anatomy a 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.
2. [uncountable] muscular strength;
   brawn.
3. power or force:
   [uncountable] to put muscle into our foreign policy.

v. 

4. Informal Terms to make one's way by force:
   [~ + in on + object] Our competitors are muscling in on our territory.
5. Informal Terms to push or move by force:
   [~ + object] to muscle the car out of the ditch.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mus•cle  (mus′əl), n., v., -cled, -cling, adj. 
n. 

1. Anatomy a tissue composed of cells or fibers, the contraction of which produces movement in the body.
2. Anatomy an organ, composed of muscle tissue, that contracts to produce a particular movement.
3. muscular strength;
   brawn:
   It will take a great deal of muscle to move this box.
4. power or force, esp. of a coercive nature:
   They put muscle into their policy and sent the marines.
5. lean meat.
6. Slang Terms
   • a hired thug or thugs.
   • a bodyguard or bodyguards:
     a gangster protected by muscle.
7. a necessary or fundamental thing, quality, etc.:
   The editor cut the muscle from the article.

v.t. 

8. Informal Terms to force or compel others to make way for:
   He muscled his way into the conversation.
9. to make more muscular:
   The dancing lessons muscled her legs.
10. to strengthen or toughen;
    put muscle into.
11. Informal Terms to accomplish by muscular force:
    to muscle the partition into place.
12. Informal Terms to force or compel, as by threats, promises, influence, or the like:
    to muscle a bill through Congress.

v.i. 

13. Informal Terms to make one's way by force or fraud (often fol. by in or into).

adj. 

14. 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′cle•less, adj. 
mus′cly, adj. 
Synonyms

• 3. power, vigor, might, force.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

muscle / ˈmʌs^əl/ noun

1. a tissue composed of bundles of elongated cells capable of contraction and relaxation to produce movement in an organ or part
2. an organ composed of muscle tissue
3. strength or force

verb

1. (intr; often followed by in, on, etc) to force one's way (in)

Etymology: 16th Century: from medical Latin musculus little mouse, from the imagined resemblance of some muscles to mice, from Latin mūs mouse

ˈmuscly, ˈmuscley adjective