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muscle

muscle

39 8.2
A person who is paid to use force or threats for someone else
  • noun
  • /ˈmʌsəl/
  • Informal
translation icon : matón
  • The guy with the choke rope, I assume DeWitt brought him for muscle.
  • call for muscle

You lost the chief, that was your backup, that was your muscle.

Examples

  • Looks like we found our muscle.

  • - Well, I was there to hire muscle...

  • Yeah, he just met up with some muscle.

  • Cooper's the quiet muscle of the bunch, a weapons specialist.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Terrence and I worked as extra muscle for a couple of dealers.

  • Your hired muscle is aging on you, Ralfi.

  • In most cases, Justice Department attorneys were the muscle that the plaintiffs and their lawyers sorely needed.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Someone who's being muscled by a mafia Don?

  • YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE MUSCLE.

  • The organization hired a group of muscle to intimidate their rivals.

Synonyms

bruiser
vsmuscle
  • Informal
7 7.2

A large strong man who looks tough and ready to fight

focuses on being an employed enforcer rather than just size or aggression
hired muscle
vsmuscle
  • NSFW
2 7.4

People paid to protect or scare others

is a single employed thug or guard rather than a paid group
heavy
vsmuscle
  • Jargon
1 8.1

A person who plays a villain in a play or film

is mainly used for real-life enforcers or protectors rather than fiction
muscleman
vsmuscle
7.3

A man hired to threaten or protect others

is gender neutral and can mean any employed strong person
musclewoman
vsmuscle
9.8

A woman who protects people by using strength or threats

is gender neutral and can mean any employed strong person
muscle woman
vsmuscle
  • Slang
8.6

A woman paid to protect someone or to scare people

has identical meaning but is written as one word in many sources

Idioms

8 6.8

To show power to frighten or control others

Compounds

heart muscle
  • Specialized
11 3.5

The part of the heart that makes it beat and forms its walls

muscle tone
  • Specialized
8 3.4

A little tightness in resting muscles that keeps them ready to move

muscle spasm
  • Specialized
7 3.4

A sudden tight movement of a muscle that hurts or feels uncomfortable

A skill that lets you do a movement without thinking after much practice

muscle relaxant
  • Specialized
5 3.7

A drug that makes muscles less tight to reduce pain or spasms

A part of the belly that helps move the body and keep it upright

muscle fiber
  • Specialized
4 3.4

A long cell in the body that gets shorter to make the body move

facial muscle
  • Specialized
3 3.3

A part of the face that moves skin to make expressions

muscle cell
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A long body cell that makes muscles move by becoming shorter and longer

skeletal muscle
  • Specialized
3 3.8

A body part attached to bones that pulls them to move the body, often with stripes

muscle contraction
  • Specialized
3 3.4

A muscle that becomes shorter or tighter and causes movement and tension

A way of training and eating to make muscles bigger and stronger

pectoral muscle
  • Specialized
2 3.9

A large chest muscle that helps move the shoulder and upper arm

2 7.4

People paid to protect or scare others

smooth muscle
  • Specialized
1 3.9

Muscle in the walls of organs and blood vessels that works without thinking

cardiac muscle
  • Specialized
1 3.8

Muscle in the heart that contracts regularly to pump blood

eye muscle
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A small body part around the eye that moves the eyeball

love muscle
  • Offensive
1 9.8

A slang name for an upper arm or chest muscle men show off, sometimes meaning a man's penis

striated muscle
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A type of body tissue with light and dark stripes that moves bones when you want

adductor muscle
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A muscle that pulls a body part toward the middle of the body

extensor muscle
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A muscle that straightens a part of the body when it pulls

intercostal muscle
  • Specialized
1 6.1

Thin bands between the ribs that tighten to help you breathe in

involuntary muscle
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A muscle in organs like the stomach or bladder that works without you thinking, not the heart

ocular muscle
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A small muscle around the eye that moves the eyeball

papillary muscle
  • Specialized
1 7.0

Small heart muscle that pulls valves to stop blood flowing back to the upper chambers when the heart beats

sartorius muscle
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A long thin thigh muscle that helps rotate the leg and cross one leg

trapezius muscle
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A large flat muscle on the upper back and neck that moves the shoulders and arms

sphincter muscle
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A ring of muscle that closes an opening in the body

1 7.2

A thick muscle on each side of the neck that helps you turn and bend your head

1 5.6

Muscle that has visible light and dark bands, like heart and arm muscles

voluntary muscle
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A part of the body you can move when you want that moves bones

buccinator muscle
  • Specialized
8.4

A thin muscle in the cheek that presses the cheek against the teeth to hold food or help blow air

cheek muscle
  • Specialized
4.2

A part of the face that flattens the cheek and pulls back the corner of the mouth

cowl muscle
  • Specialized
9.6

A flat triangular part at the top of the back that moves and supports the shoulder and arm

deltoid muscle
  • Specialized
4.2

A large triangular shoulder muscle that lifts and turns the arm

depressor muscle
  • Specialized
6.2

A muscle that pulls a part of the body down

A flat slanted muscle on each side of the belly that helps turn and support the upper body

abducens muscle
  • Specialized
8.6

A muscle that moves the eye outward away from the nose

abductor muscle
  • Specialized
4.6

A muscle that moves a limb or other body part away from the body's middle

anconeous muscle
  • Specialized
8.6

A small muscle at the back of the elbow that helps straighten the arm

antagonistic muscle
  • Specialized
6.3

A muscle that works against another to control movement at a joint

4.8

A muscle that helps turn the shoulder blade and lift the ribs

articular muscle
  • Specialized
7.5

A muscle that attaches to the covering of a joint and helps keep the joint steady

axial muscle
  • Specialized
6.8

A muscle in the trunk or head that moves and supports the spine

5.1

A flat muscle on each side of the stomach that helps twist the body and pull in the waist

flexor muscle
  • Specialized
4.2

A muscle that bends a joint, like when you bend your elbow

lateral rectus muscle
  • Specialized
6.4

A muscle on the outer side of the eye that turns the eye outward away from the nose

8.0

A muscle in the upper back under the trapezius that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up

medial rectus muscle
  • Specialized
5.5

Muscle on the inner side of the eye that moves the eye toward the nose

Molson muscle
  • Canadian
9.9

A round, soft belly that grows from drinking a lot of beer

A person who exercises to make large, strong muscles

muscle sense
  • Specialized
6.3

Ability to feel where your body parts are and how they move without looking

muscle system
  • Specialized
2.6

A group of muscles and other body parts that make the body move

muscle woman
  • Slang
8.6

A woman paid to protect someone or to scare people

9.9

A gay man, often a bodybuilder, with a very large, strong body who likes to show it

A person who exercises to build very large, strong muscles

A powder or drink taken to help muscles grow

gastrocnemius muscle
  • Specialized
6.5

A large muscle at the back of the lower leg that lifts the heel when you stand on tiptoe

glute muscle
  • Specialized
3.7

A part of the buttocks that makes the hip and thigh move

gluteal muscle
  • Specialized
3.8

A large muscle at the back of the hip that moves the thigh and forms the buttock

gluteus muscle
  • Specialized
4.1

A large muscle in the buttock that moves the thigh

great adductor muscle
  • Specialized
8.0

A large inner thigh muscle that pulls the leg toward the middle of the body and moves it backward

5.2

A large chest muscle that pulls the arm toward the body and turns it inward

7.4

A muscle in the upper back that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine

5.3

A muscle in the eye that moves the eyeball down and in

pterygoid muscle
  • Specialized
8.3

A muscle inside the face that helps move the lower jaw when you chew

retractor muscle
  • Specialized
6.7

A muscle that pulls a body part back toward the body

rhomboid minor muscle
  • Specialized
6.1

A small upper back muscle that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up

rhomboid muscle
  • Specialized
6.6

A muscle in the upper back between the spine and shoulder blade that helps move and hold it

7.0

A muscle in the upper back that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine

8.2

A part of the back that pulls the ribs down and back

scalene muscle
  • Specialized
7.7

A muscle on the side of the neck that moves the neck and helps you breathe

6.5

A muscle in the eye that moves the eyeball upward and inward

Surface Forms

muscle singular
muscles plural

Etymology

Muscle can mean a person hired to use force, often called 'hired muscle', because a strong person with big muscles was used to threaten or protect for someone else. So muscle in this sense means a thug or bodyguard who uses physical strength.