muscle
mus·cle/ˈmʌs.əl/noun, verb
muscle is spelled M-U-S-C-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (mus·cle). It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,364th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muscle means “A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muscle is muscles.
How many letters and syllables are in muscle?
| Letters | 6: M-U-S-C-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mus·cle |
| In writing | 28 times per million words; the 3,364th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is muscle?
Muscle appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,364th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce muscle?
- /ˈmʌs.əl/
- [ˈmʌs.l̩]
Muscle has 2 syllables, split mus·cle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-muscle.wav, En-us-muscle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with muscle
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: mussel (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of muscle
- muscles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- muscule
- muscling participle, present
- muscled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muscle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
Muscle consists largely of actin and myosin filaments.
- 2
An organ composed of muscle tissue.
- 3
A well-developed physique, in which the muscles are enlarged from exercise.
- 4
Strength, force.
- 5
Hired strongmen or bodyguards.
verb
- 1
To use force to make progress, especially physical force.
He muscled his way through the crowd.
- 2
To move forcefully or with great strength.
She muscled through the ruins.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muscle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | muscle |
| German | Muskel |
| Portuguese | músculo , musculatura , força , forçar |
| Spanish | músculo , murecillo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does muscle come from?
From Middle English muscle, muscule, muskylle, and in part from Middle French muscle, from Latin mūsculus (“a muscle”, literally “little mouse”) because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs (“mouse”). Doublet of mussel. More at mouse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).