muscle Alternative forms
* (l)
Noun
( en noun)
(uncountable) A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
- Muscle consists largely of actin and myosin filaments.
(countable) An organ composed of muscle tissue.
*
- His brow and hair and the palms of his hands were wet, and there was a kind of nervous contraction of his muscles . They seemed to ripple and string tense.
*
- You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker
(uncountable, usually plural) A well-developed physique, in which the muscles are enlarged from exercise.
* 2008 , Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in'' Nate Green, ''Built for Show , page xii
- The fact that I was middle-aged, bald, married, and raising girls instead of chasing them didn't really bother me. Muscles are cool at any age.
(uncountable, figurative) Strength, force.
* 2010 , Adam Quinn, US Foreign Policy in Context , page 81
- The lesson to be drawn from the events of 1914, to Roosevelt's mind, was that civilization needed muscle to defend it, not just solemn words.
* 2013 , John D. MacDonald, The Long Lavender Look , page 15
- It was going to take muscle to pluck Miss Agnes out of the canal.
(uncountable, figurative) Hired strongmen or bodyguards.
* 1985 — , The Infinity Doctors , p 34
- It was easy enough to dodge him, let him crash into the floorboards. Peltroc knew that his priority was the leader, not the hired muscle .
Derived terms
* beer muscles
* cardiac muscle
* gym muscles
* involuntary muscle
* make a muscle
*
* musclebound
* muscle boy
* muscle car
* muscled
* muscledom
* muscle dysmorphia
* muscleful
* muscle in on
* muscleless
* muscleman
* muscle relaxant
* muscle shirt
* musclesome
* muscle tone
* muscle up
* muscle-up
* muscled up
* muscular
* muscularity
* musculature
* muscly
* skeletal muscle
* smooth muscle
* voluntary muscle
See also
* myology
* myotomy
Verb
( muscl)
To use force to make progress, especially physical force.
- He muscled his way through the crowd.
* 1988', Steve Holman, "Christian Conquers Columbus", '''' ' 47 (6): 28-34.
- Hensel and Wilson hit a series of leg shots simultaneously as Christian muscles between them with Quinn right on his heels.
Derived terms
* outmuscle
Related terms
* mouse
* mussel
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bower English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) ).
Noun
( en noun)
A bedroom or private apartments, especially for a woman in a medieval castle.
* Gascoigne
- Give me my lute in bed now as I lie, / And lock the doors of mine unlucky bower .
(literary) A dwelling; a picturesque country cottage, especially one that is used as a retreat.
- (Shenstone)
A shady, leafy shelter or recess in a garden or woods.
* 1599 ,
- say that thou overheard'st us,
- And bid her steal into the pleached bower ,
- Where honey-suckles, ripen'd by the sun,
- Forbid the sun to enter;
* {{quote-book, year=1907, author=
, title=The Dust of Conflict
, chapter=1 citation
, passage=
(ornithology) A large structure made of grass and bright objects, used by the bower bird during courtship displays.
Synonyms
*
Verb
( en verb)
To embower; to enclose.
- (Shakespeare)
(obsolete) To lodge.
- (Spenser)
Etymology 2
From (etyl) boueer, from (etyl) .
Noun
( en noun)
A peasant; a farmer.
Etymology 3
From (etyl) Bauer.
Noun
( en noun)
Either of the two highest trumps in euchre.
Derived terms
* best bower
* left bower
* right bower
Etymology 4
From the bow of a ship
Noun
( en noun)
(nautical) A type of ship's anchor, carried at the bow.
One who bows or bends.
A muscle that bends a limb, especially the arm.
* Spenser
- His rawbone arms, whose mighty brawned bowers / Were wont to rive steel plates and helmets hew.
Etymology 5
From bough, compare brancher.
Noun
( en noun)
(obsolete, falconry) A young hawk, when it begins to leave the nest.
( Webster 1913)
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