muscle

/ˈmʌs.əl/

//ˈmʌs.əl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"muscle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“muscle” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,379. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,379
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.

Corpus desk

Index EN-muscle · muscle · English

muscle · rank #3,379 · 9 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,379
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mood

Nearest frequency peer: mood (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “muscle”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “muscle” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

muscle vs muse
67% similar
muscle vs muzzle
67% similar
muscle vs muscles
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for muscle
PropertyValue
Headwordmuscle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌs.əl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,379
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “muscle”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).musclelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “mood” (#3,378), “mini” (#3,377), “lieutenant” (#3,376). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “muscle” is #3,379. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around muscle (IPA /ˈmʌs.əl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,379 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for muscle, with forms such as "mmuscle", "msucle", and "mucsle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "muse", "muzzle", "muscles", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is muscle, spelled M-U-S-C-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
  2. 2
    An organ composed of muscle tissue.
  3. 3
    A well-developed physique, in which the muscles are enlarged from exercise.
  4. 4
    Strength, force.
  5. 5
    Hired strongmen or bodyguards.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how muscle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Muscle consists largely of actin and myosin filaments.
  2. For as the Trunk of the Body, is kept from tilting forvvard by the Muſcules of the Back: So, from falling backvvard, by theſe of the Belly.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

músculo(Español)muscle(Français)Muskel(Deutsch)músculo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmuscle
  • msucle
  • mucsle
  • musccle
  • muscel
  • musclle
  • muslce
  • musscle
  • umscle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of muscle - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mmuscle1msucle2mucsle2musccle1muscel2musclle1muslce2musscle1
Edit distance from "muscle"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "muscle"?
"muscle" is spelled M-U-S-C-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌs.əl/.
What does "muscle" mean?
As a noun, "muscle" means: A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
What words are commonly confused with "muscle"?
"muscle" is commonly confused with "muse", "muzzle", "muscles". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "muscle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "muscle" is /ˈmʌs.əl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "muscle"?
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 mo... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "muscle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legend#3,375hearts#3,367Harris#3,366shadow#3,395

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

passion9 variantsIllinois9 variantssettled9 variantsthread9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list