Meaning of “muscle” in the English Dictionary

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"muscle" in English

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musclenoun

uk ​ /ˈmʌs.əl/ us ​ /ˈmʌs.əl/

muscle noun (BODY PART)

B2 [ C or U ] one of many tissues in the body that can tighten and relax to produce movement:

neck/back/leg/stomach muscles
facial muscles
bulging/rippling (= large and clear to see) muscles
He flexed his muscles (= tightened them to make them look large and strong) so that everyone could admire them.
These exercises build muscle and increase stamina.
a muscle spasm (= a sudden uncontrollable tightening movement)
pull a muscle

C1 to injure a muscle by stretching it too far so that it is very painful:

Russell pulled a back muscle early in the game.

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(Definition of “muscle” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"muscle" in American English

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musclenoun [ C/U ]

us ​ /ˈmʌs·əl/

› biology a mass of tissue in the body, often attached to bones, that can tighten and relax to produce movement

› Muscle is also the power to do things or to make people behave in a certain way:

[ U ] Republicans are flexing some political muscle.

muscleverb [ always + adv/prep ]

us ​ /ˈmʌs·əl/

› to force your way into a place or situation:

[ T ] Starks muscled his way to the basket.
[ I ] Amanda muscled in on our meeting.

(Definition of “muscle” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"muscle" in Business English

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musclenoun [ U ]

uk ​ /ˈmʌsl/ us ​ informal

› the power to do difficult things or to make people behave in a certain way:

We do have the financial muscle to compete effectively in this market.

(Definition of “muscle” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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