Definition of "sinew" [sin•ew]

• A tendon. (noun)
• Vigorous strength; muscular power. (noun)
• The source or mainstay of vitality and strength. Often used in the plural: "Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue” ( Izaak Walton). (noun)
• To strengthen with or as if with sinews. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "He preaches what he calls the sinew and bone of doctrine, and he is very stern in the pulpit."
• "Matching him sinew for sinew is Wes Studi as the bloodcurdlingly vengeful villain Magua, who vows to rip the heart out of an old adversary."
• "And strings them nested onto strands of sinew from a tule deer"