Definition of "muscle" []

• A tissue composed of fibers capable of contracting to effect bodily movement. (noun)
• 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. (noun)
• Muscular strength: enough muscle to be a high jumper. (noun)
• Informal Power or authority: put some muscle into law enforcement. (noun)
• To make one's way by or as if by force: muscled into the conversation. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The child who is ‘spastic’ has muscle stiffness, or ‘muscle tension’."
• "It will be well to note that the two shells of an oyster, which are called _valves_, are held together by a single muscle, known as the _adductor muscle_, that lies near the center, and that this muscle must be cut before the shell will open readily."
• "Between the ciliary processes and the sclerotic coat is a small muscle, containing both circular and longitudinal fibers, called the _ciliary muscle_."