- [countable, uncountable] 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.
- Contract and relax the muscles in your fingers a few times.
- She tried to relax her tense muscles.
- He felt every muscle in his body tighten.
- He didn't move a muscle (= stood completely still).
- Lift weights to build muscle.
- muscle fibre/tissue/mass
Homophones muscle | musselmuscle mussel/ˈmʌsl//ˈmʌsl/- muscle noun
- You should stretch before exercise to avoid muscle injuries.
- muscle verb
- Don't let that bully muscle in on your success!
- mussel noun
- Grandad's mussel linguine recipe was absolutely mouth-watering.
Collocations InjuriesInjuriesBeing injured- have a fall/an injury
- receive/suffer/sustain a serious injury/a hairline fracture/(especially British English) whiplash/a gunshot wound
- hurt/injure your ankle/back/leg
- damage the brain/an ankle ligament/your liver/the optic nerve/the skin
- pull/strain/tear a hamstring/ligament/muscle/tendon
- sprain/twist your ankle/wrist
- break a bone/your collarbone/your leg/three ribs
- fracture/crack your skull
- break/chip/knock out/lose a tooth
- burst/perforate your eardrum
- dislocate your finger/hip/jaw/shoulder
- bruise/cut/graze your arm/knee/shoulder
- burn/scald yourself/your tongue
- bang/bump/hit/ (informal) bash your elbow/head/knee (on/against something)
- treat somebody for burns/a head injury/a stab wound
- examine/clean/dress/bandage/treat a bullet wound
- repair a damaged/torn ligament/tendon/cartilage
- amputate/cut off an arm/a finger/a foot/a leg/a limb
- put on/ (formal) apply/take off (especially North American English) a Band-Aid™/(British English) a plaster/a bandage
- need/require/put in/ (especially British English) have (out)/ (North American English) get (out) stitches
- put on/rub on/ (formal) apply cream/ointment/lotion
- have/receive/undergo (British English) physiotherapy/(North American English) physical therapy
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodyb1- The disease puts strain on the heart muscle.
- His muscles rippled beneath his T-shirt as he worked.
- I laughed so hard I almost pulled a muscle.
- I walked up and down the aisle to stretch my cramped muscles.
- Learn how to relax tense muscles.
- Lifting weights sculpts muscle.
- Suddenly my sore muscles protested and I let out a groan.
- The muscles in my face tensed.
- diet supplements to build muscle
- the muscles controlling speech production
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- hard
- powerful
- strong
- …
- clench
- contract
- flex
- …
- ache
- burn
- hurt
- …
- cell
- fibre/fiber
- tissue
- …
- muscle in
- [uncountable] physical strength
- He's an intelligent player but lacks the muscle of older competitors.
- I exerted every ounce of my miserable muscle power.
- [uncountable] 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.
- This show gives the artist the chance to flex his creative muscle.
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Word Originlate Middle English: from French, from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus ‘mouse’ (some muscles being thought to be mouse-like in form).
Check pronunciation:
muscle