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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Muscle Definition, Usage & Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：bodily tissue for movement (muscle)

muscle 🔊

/ˈmʌs.əl/

The soft parts in your body that you can feel under your skin and use to move.

Muscle anatomy diagram showing a flexed human bicep in a gym setting.

bodily tissue for movement 🔊

➕

/ˈbɒd.ɪ.li ˈtɪʃ.uː fɔː ˈmuːv.mənt/

Contractile tissue in the body that produces force and motion.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'musculus' meaning 'little mouse', diminutive of 'mus' (mouse).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a 'mouse' ('mus') curling ('cle') under your skin when you flex a muscle.

📖 Example

After lifting weights at the gym, she could feel her arm muscle getting tighter. 🔊 A physical sensation of increased tension in the arm tissue following exercise.

🔗 Collocations

build muscle – to increase muscle size and strength through exercise

pull a muscle – to injure a muscle by stretching it too far

flex one's muscles – to tighten one's muscles to show their shape or strength

🔄 Synonyms

flesh (n.) – The soft substance consisting of muscle and fat.

brawn (n.) – Physical strength, especially of muscles.

strength (n.) – The quality or state of being physically strong.

🚫 Antonyms

fat (n.) – A natural oily substance stored in body tissues.

weakness (n.) – The state of lacking strength.

🌱 Derivatives

muscular (adj.) – Relating to or having well-developed muscles.

📖 Cultural Story

The Latin 'musculus' (little mouse) was humorously used to describe a muscle because its shape and movement under the skin were thought to resemble a scurrying mouse. This anatomical term evolved to also mean strength or power.

Meaning 2：power or influence (muscle)

muscle 🔊

/ˈmʌs.əl/

Power or influence, not physical strength, that makes others listen or follow.

Business muscle and influence illustrated by a leader in a corporate meeting.

power or influence 🔊

➕

/ˈpaʊə ɔːr ˈɪn.flu.əns/

The capacity to exert force, authority, or influence in a non-physical context.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The big tech company used its financial muscle to force the smaller competitor to lower its prices. 🔊 The large corporation leveraged its monetary power to compel a rival into a price reduction.

🔗 Collocations

flex one's muscles – to demonstrate one's power or capability as a warning or show of force

muscle in on – to force one's way into a situation to gain a share of something

financial muscle – significant economic power or resources

🔄 Synonyms

power (n.) – The ability to influence people or events.

influence (n.) – The capacity to have an effect on character or behavior.

clout (n.) – Informal term for influence or power, especially in politics or business.

🚫 Antonyms

weakness (n.) – Lack of strength, power, or influence.

irrelevance (n.) – The quality of being not important or influential.

🌱 Derivatives

muscle-bound (adj.) – Restricted in movement or thinking by an over-rigid structure or system.