muscle (redirected from muscling up)

mus·cle  (msl)

n.

1. A tissue composed of fibers capable of contracting to effect bodily movement.

2. A contractile organ consisting of a special bundle of muscle tissue, which moves a particular bone, part, or substance of the body: the heart muscle; the muscles of the arm.

3. Muscular strength: enough muscle to be a high jumper.

4. Informal Power or authority: put some muscle into law enforcement.

v. mus·cled, mus·cling, mus·cles Informal

v.intr.

To make one's way by or as if by force: muscled into the conversation.

v.tr.

To move or force with strength: muscled legislation through Congress.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin msculus, diminutive of ms, mouse; see ms- in Indo-European roots.]

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muscly adj.

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muscle [ˈmʌs^əl]

n

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) a tissue composed of bundles of elongated cells capable of contraction and relaxation to produce movement in an organ or part

2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) an organ composed of muscle tissue

3. strength or force

vb

(intr; often foll by in, on, etc.) Informal to force one's way (in)

[from medical Latin musculus little mouse, from the imagined resemblance of some muscles to mice, from Latin mūs mouse]

muscly  adj

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muscle  (msl)

A body tissue composed of sheets or bundles of cells that contract to produce movement or increase tension. Muscle cells contain filaments made of the proteins actin and myosin, which lie parallel to each other. When a muscle is signaled to contract, the actin and myosin filaments slide past each other in an overlapping pattern. Skeletal muscle effects voluntary movement and is made up of bundles of elongated cells (muscle fibers), each of which contains many nuclei. Smooth muscle provides the contractile force for the internal organs and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped and each contains a single nucleus. Cardiac muscle makes up the muscle of the heart and consists of a meshwork of striated cells.

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muscular adjective

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Muscle 

See Also: STRENGTH

1. The great muscles of his torso flickered and ran like the flank of a horse —Du Bose Heyward
2. Heavily defined pectoral muscles, on which the nipples stood out like pennies —Francis King
3. Muscled like a water buffalo —Gerald Kersh
4. Muscles [of leg] as big as a hill —Dylan Thomas
5. Muscles … hard and ropy like the ones on the fantastic coursing dogs in the sad stone friezes of ancient Persia —Beryl Markham
6. Muscles … hard as iron —Jack London
7. The muscles in his face seemed to pull together like a drawstring purse —Sue Grafton
8. The muscles in their arms bulge out like India rubber balls —Joanna M. Glass
9. Muscles in their backs rippled … like fretted water over a stony bed —Beryl Markham
10. Muscles like armor plates pasted on his body —John Rechy
11. Muscles … like blown-up balloons —François Camoin

    In his short story, A Hunk of Burning Love, Camoin completes the simile as follows: “Put a pipe in his mouth and he’d look like Popeye.”

12. Muscles like marshmallows —Carlos Baker
13. The muscles of his arms and back stood out beneath his fair skin like the muscles of one of Rodin’s bronze men —Louis Bromfield
14. Muscles of his forearms … moved in ridges and hollows from a knot above his elbow, like pistons working from a cylinder —L. P. Hartley
15. Muscles of strength rose like a collar from his neck —Arthur A. Cohen
16. Muscles … polished like metal, pure sculpture —Vita Sackville-West
17. Muscles pulled like cold rubber —Tony Ardizzone See Also: PAIN
18. Muscles rippled like stretching cats —Stephen Vincent Benét
19. Muscles stretched taut as cowhide stretched over a baseball —W. P. Kinsella
20. Muscles that flow like a mountain stream —Ogden Nash
21. Muscles twitching like the flesh of a horse stung by many flies —Ralph Ellison
22. Remember … the rippling of bright muscles like a sea —Edith Sitwell
23. The ripple of muscles goes along him, like a cat’s back arching —Margaret Atwood
24. Wore faded denims through which his clumsy muscles bulged like animals in a sack —Ross Macdonald

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muscle - Comes from Latin musculus, "little mouse," as the ancient Romans thought their muscles wriggled like mice.

See also related terms for mice.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	muscle - one of the contractile organs of the body musculus contractile organ, contractor - a bodily organ that contracts skeletal muscle, striated muscle - a muscle that is connected at either or both ends to a bone and so move parts of the skeleton; a muscle that is characterized by transverse stripes pronator - a muscle that produces or assists in pronation supinator - a muscle (especially in the forearm) that produces or assists in supination levator - a muscle that serves to lift some body part (as the eyelid or lip) antagonistic muscle - (physiology) a muscle that opposes the action of another; "the biceps and triceps are antagonistic muscles" eye muscle, ocular muscle - one of the small muscles of the eye that serve to rotate the eyeball rectus - any of various straight muscles muscle cell, muscle fiber, muscle fibre - an elongated contractile cell that forms the muscles of the body involuntary muscle, smooth muscle - a muscle that contracts without conscious control and found in walls of internal organs such as stomach and intestine and bladder and blood vessels (excluding the heart) anatomical sphincter, sphincter, sphincter muscle - a ring of muscle that contracts to close an opening tensor - any of several muscles that cause an attached structure to become tense or firm
	2.	muscle - animal tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells muscular tissue animal tissue - the tissue in the bodies of animals striated muscle tissue - muscle tissue characterized by transverse stripes cardiac muscle, heart muscle - the muscle tissue of the heart; adapted to continued rhythmic contraction smooth muscle - muscle tissue that does not appear striated under the microscope; has the form of thin layers or sheets muscle system, muscular structure, musculature - the muscular system of an organism tonicity, tonus, tone - the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli; "the doctor tested my tonicity"
	3.	muscle - a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard; "the drug lord had his muscleman to protect him" muscleman bully, hooligan, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, yob, yobbo, yobo, tough - a cruel and brutal fellow
	4.	muscle - authority or power or force (especially when used in a coercive way); "the senators used their muscle to get the party leader to resign" authority, potency, authorization, authorisation, say-so, dominance - the power or right to give orders or make decisions; "he has the authority to issue warrants"; "deputies are given authorization to make arrests"; "a place of potency in the state"
	5.	muscle - possessing muscular strength brawn, brawniness, heftiness, muscularity, sinew strength - the property of being physically or mentally strong; "fatigue sapped his strength"
Verb	1.	muscle - make one's way by force; "He muscled his way into the office" go across, pass, go through - go across or through; "We passed the point where the police car had parked"; "A terrible thought went through his mind"

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muscle

noun

1. tendon, sinew, muscle tissue, thew He has a strained thigh muscle.

2. strength, might, force, power, weight, stamina, potency, brawn, sturdiness The team showed more muscle than mental application.

3. power, weight, clout (informal), potency, pull (informal), forcefulness He used his muscle to persuade Congress to change the law.

muscle in (Informal) impose yourself, encroach, butt in, force your way in, elbow your way in He complained that they were muscling in on his deal.

Muscles

accelerator, accessorius, adductor, agonist, antagonist, arytenoid, biceps, buccinator, compressor, constrictor, contractor, corrugator, deltoid, depressor, digrastic, dilator, elevator, erector, evertor, extensor, flexor, gastrocnemius, gluteus or glutaeus, levator, lumbricalis, masseter, opponent, pectoral, peroneal muscle, pronator, psoas, quadriceps, rectus, retractor, rhomboideus, rotator, sartorius, scalenus, soleus, sphincter, supinator, suspensory or suspensor, tensor, trapezius, triceps

Translations

muscle [ˈmʌsl] N

1. (Anat) → músculo m
to flex one's muscles → tensar los músculos
he never moved a muscle → ni se inmutó

2. (fig) → fuerza f
political muscle → poder m político

muscle in VI + ADV to muscle in (on sth) → meterse por la fuerza(en algo)

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muscle [ˈmʌs^əl] n

[body] → muscle m
Exercise will tone up your stomach muscles → Faites de l'exercice pour tonifier vos abdominaux.
he didn't move a muscle (fig) (= remained motionless) → il est resté immobile

to flex one's muscles (= demonstrate one's power) → faire étalage de sa force

muscle in

vi → s'imposer, s'immiscer

muscle in on

vt fus
to muscle in on sth (= attempt to benefit from) → essayer de détourner qch à ses propres fins
muscle tissue n → tissu m musculaire

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muscle

n → Muskel m; (fig: = power) → Macht f; he’s all muscle → er besteht nur aus Muskeln, er ist sehr muskulös (gebaut); to have financial muscle → finanzstark or -kräftig sein; he never moved a muscle → er rührte sich nicht

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muscle:

muscle-bound

adj (inf: = muscular) → muskelbepackt (inf); to be muscle → ein Muskelpaket m → sein (inf)

muscle building

n → Muskelaufbau m

muscle cramp

n → Muskelkrampf m

muscleman

n → Muskelmann m, → Muskelprotz m (pej)

muscle power

n → Muskelkraft f

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muscle [ˈmʌsl] n → muscolo (fig) → energia, forza
he never moved a muscle → rimase fermo immobile

muscle in vi + adv to muscle in (on sth) (fam) → intromettersi or immischiarsi (in qc)

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muscle

n muscle [ˈmasl]

any of the bundles of fibres in the body which, by contracting or relaxing, cause movement of the body He has well-developed muscles in his arms. spiere عَضَلَه мускули sval muskel der Muskel μυς músculo lihas ماهيچه lihas muscle שְׁרִיר पेशी, ताकत mišić izom otot vöðvi muscolo 筋肉 근육 raumuo muskulis otot spier muskel mięsień músculo muşchi мышца, мускул sval mišica mišić muskel กล้ามเนื้อ kas 肌肉 мускул; м'яз پٹّھا ، عضلہ cơ bắp 肌肉

adj muscular [ˈmaskjulə]

1 of, or relating to, muscle(s) great muscular strength. gespierd عَضَلي мускулен svalový muskel- muskulös μυϊκός muscular muskli- عضلانى lihas- musculaire שְׁרִירִי पेशीय mišićan izom- otot vöðva- muscolare 筋肉の 근육의 raumenų muskuļu- berkaitan dengan otot spier- muskuløs, muskel- muskularny, mięśniowy muscular mus­cular мышечный, мускульный svalový mišičen mišićni muskel- เกี่ยวกับกล้ามเนื้อ adaleli, kaslı 肌肉的 мускульний عضلات سے متعلق liên quan đến cơ bắp 肌肉的

2 having well-developed muscles; strong She is tall and muscular. gespierd قَوي العَضَل мускулест svalnatý muskulær muskulös μυώδης musculoso lihaseline عضلانى lihaksikas musclé שְׁרִירִי पेशी-विन्यास mišićav izmos berotot vöðvastæltur; sterkur muscoloso 筋骨たくましい 근육이 발달한 raumeningas muskuļains berotot kekar gespierd muskuløs, muskelsterk muskularny musculoso musculos мускулистый svalnatý mišičast mišićav muskulös มีกล้าม kuvvetli, güçlü 強健的 мускулястий; дужий ابھری ہوئی مچھلیوں والا، طاقتور cơ bắp 强健的

muscle in

to gain entry, or gain a share of something by force The large firms have muscled in on all the important contracts. indwing يَقْتَحِم أو يُشارِك بالقُوَّه влизам със сила vedrat se (do) mase sig ind sich rücksichtslos drängen in εισβάλλω, εξασφαλίζω με τη βία entrometerse, inmiscuirse jõuga saavutama وارد شدن raivata tietä kyynärpäätaktiikalla s'immiscer לִפרוֹץ בְּכּוֹח बलपूर्वक घुसना prisiliti befurakodik merebut troða sér (inn í e-ð) (imporsi con la forza) 割り込む 억지로 비집고 들어가다 jėga įsibrauti į, pasiglemžti (ar varu) ielauzties; sagrābt merebut zich indringen trenge seg inn på wpychać się przemocą ganhar a se infiltra, a se amesteca вторгаться vopchať sa (do) brezobzirno se vriniti ugurati se tränga (nästla) sig in på ใช้กำลังควบคุม (คำสแลง) zorla girmek 強行進入或強行分得一份利益，插手 вдиратися; вриватися زبردستی مداخلت کرنا đột nhập; giành giật 强行进入或强行分得一份利益，插手

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muscle → عضلة sval muskel Muskel μυς músculo lihas muscle mišić muscolo 筋肉 근육 spier muskel mięsień músculo мышца muskel กล้ามเนื้อ kas cơ bắp 肌肉