muscle
- noun
- /ˈmʌsəl/
- Informal
- 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.
- 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
A large strong man who looks tough and ready to fight
People paid to protect or scare others
A person who plays a villain in a play or film
A man hired to threaten or protect others
A woman who protects people by using strength or threats
A woman paid to protect someone or to scare people
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
A sudden tight movement of a muscle that hurts or feels uncomfortable
- Specialized
A long body cell that makes muscles move by becoming shorter and longer
- Specialized
A body part attached to bones that pulls them to move the body, often with stripes
- Specialized
A muscle that becomes shorter or tighter and causes movement and tension
- Specialized
Muscle in the walls of organs and blood vessels that works without thinking
- Offensive
A slang name for an upper arm or chest muscle men show off, sometimes meaning a man's penis
- Specialized
A type of body tissue with light and dark stripes that moves bones when you want
- Specialized
Thin bands between the ribs that tighten to help you breathe in
- Specialized
A muscle in organs like the stomach or bladder that works without you thinking, not the heart
- Specialized
Small heart muscle that pulls valves to stop blood flowing back to the upper chambers when the heart beats
- Specialized
A long thin thigh muscle that helps rotate the leg and cross one leg
- Specialized
A large flat muscle on the upper back and neck that moves the shoulders and arms
- Specialized
A thick muscle on each side of the neck that helps you turn and bend your head
- Specialized
Muscle that has visible light and dark bands, like heart and arm muscles
- Specialized
A thin muscle in the cheek that presses the cheek against the teeth to hold food or help blow air
- Specialized
A part of the face that flattens the cheek and pulls back the corner of the mouth
- Specialized
A flat triangular part at the top of the back that moves and supports the shoulder and arm
- Specialized
A flat slanted muscle on each side of the belly that helps turn and support the upper body
- Specialized
A muscle that moves a limb or other body part away from the body's middle
- Specialized
A small muscle at the back of the elbow that helps straighten the arm
- Specialized
A muscle that works against another to control movement at a joint
- Specialized
A muscle that helps turn the shoulder blade and lift the ribs
- Specialized
A muscle that attaches to the covering of a joint and helps keep the joint steady
- Specialized
A flat muscle on each side of the stomach that helps twist the body and pull in the waist
- Specialized
A muscle on the outer side of the eye that turns the eye outward away from the nose
- Specialized
A muscle in the upper back under the trapezius that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up
- Specialized
Muscle on the inner side of the eye that moves the eye toward the nose
- Specialized
Ability to feel where your body parts are and how they move without looking
- Slur
A gay man, often a bodybuilder, with a very large, strong body who likes to show it
- Specialized
A large muscle at the back of the lower leg that lifts the heel when you stand on tiptoe
- Specialized
A large muscle at the back of the hip that moves the thigh and forms the buttock
- Specialized
A large inner thigh muscle that pulls the leg toward the middle of the body and moves it backward
- Specialized
A large chest muscle that pulls the arm toward the body and turns it inward
- Specialized
A muscle in the upper back that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine
- Specialized
A muscle inside the face that helps move the lower jaw when you chew
- Specialized
A small upper back muscle that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up
- Specialized
A muscle in the upper back between the spine and shoulder blade that helps move and hold it
- Specialized
A muscle in the upper back that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine
- Specialized
A muscle on the side of the neck that moves the neck and helps you breathe
Surface Forms
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.