What is muscle? How to use in English

Discover the meaning of muscle in English, its pronunciation, and how to use it correctly in real-life situations. See examples and easy memorization tips.

Definition & pronunciation of muscle

musclenoun

cơ, bắp thịt

/ˈmʌsl/

Definition & pronunciation of <strong>muscle</strong>

Where does the word muscle come from?

The word "muscle" originates from the Latin word "musculus," which means "little mouse." This may seem unusual, but it's due to the ancient Greeks and Romans' observation of the movement of mice when they were exposed to heat. They noticed that mice's legs would contract and relax, much like human muscles, as they moved. As a result, the Greek physician Galen (129-216 AD) referred to the striated muscles of the human body as "muskoi" or "little mice," which the Latin language later adopted as "musculus." The term eventually evolved into the English word "muscle," describing the fibers responsible for movement, strength, and contraction in the human body.

Vocabulary summary muscle

typenoun

meaningmuscle

meaning(figurative) strength

examplea man of muscle: a strong person, a muscular person

meaningunmoved

typejournalize

meaningto muscle in (US, American slang), (slang) to break in, to invade

Example of vocabulary musclenamespace

meaning

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.
meaning

physical strength

  • He's an intelligent player but lacks the muscle of older competitors.
  • I exerted every ounce of my miserable muscle power.
meaning

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.

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