2 syllables: Mus, cle. Stress on Mus.
MUHS-uhl
/ˈmʌsəl/
Muscle is pronounced MUHS-uhl (/ˈmʌsəl/). It has two syllables (Mus-cle), with the stress on "Mus". Muscle is a dense, fibrous tissue that attaches to bones and facilitates movement by contracting in response to nerve signals. It forms part of the muscular system, providing strength and stability for various physical activities. In everyday language, “muscle” also refers to physical strength or power. The word originates from Latin and has preserved its silent-letter spelling in modern English.
nounMuscle is a dense, fibrous tissue that attaches to bones and facilitates movement by contracting in response to nerve signals. It forms part of the muscular system, providing strength and stability for various physical activities. In everyday language, “muscle” also refers to physical strength or power. The word originates from Latin and has preserved its silent-letter spelling in modern English.
- You might over-enunciate the second syllable or insert a full vowel: practice keeping a lax, reduced second syllable /ə/ or /əl/ instead of /uː/ or /ʌ/; - You may articulate a hard /k/ or /s/ separately; keep the /s/ as a single light consonant before the /əl/; - In fast speech, the word can reduce to /ˈməsəl/ with a weak second syllable; to avoid clipping, practice with a slow, controlled tempo.
How to Pronounce Muscle
"• Regular strength training builds the muscle groups in your legs and back."
"• He’s got serious muscle from years of weight lifting."
"• The broken system needs muscle and persistence to fix."
Muscle is pronounced with a silent c: /ˈmʌsəl/ in UK/US; in American speech the first vowel may be a short schwa but the stressed syllable remains on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK both use /ˈməsəl/ or /ˈmʌsəl/ depending on speaker; the consonant cluster is m + s, with the s often lightly pronounced. Start with /m/, then a short vowel, then a light /s/ and end with /əl/. Audio reference: you’ll hear the /m/ onset and a near-silent /c/ in rapid speech.
Common errors include pronouncing the second syllable as /muː/ or /muskəl/ by inserting a vowel in the second syllable; and treating the c as a hard /k/ sound. Fix: keep the second syllable as a short, reduced vowel /ə/ or /ɚ/ depending on accent, and drop the /k/ entirely, letting the /s/ conjoin with the /əl/ softly. Practice by isolating /m/ + /ə/ + /s/ + /əl/ in quick succession.
In US English, /ˈməsəl/ (rhotic /r/ is not present in this word). UK English often uses /ˈmʌsəl/ or /ˈməsəl/ depending on speaker; AU tends toward /ˈməsəl/ with a lighter /ə/ and a slightly more centralized /ə/. The primary difference is the first vowel: US tends toward /ə/ or /ʌ/ variation; UK/AU vary between /ə/ and /ʌ/; the final /əl/ tends to be a schwa-less syllable in fast speech.
Because the second syllable carries a reduced vowel and the hard /c/ is silent, you must coordinate a clean /s/ and a subtle /əl/ ending, which can cause the tongue to overemphasize the /s/ or insert a vowel. The challenge is maintaining the initial stressed syllable while the second syllable remains light and quick. The mouth position transitions quickly from bilabial /m/ to alveolar /s/ and then to a central vowel.
Yes, in standard pronunciation the letter c in muscle is not pronounced as /k/ or /s/; the sound sequence is /m/ + /ə/ (or /ʌ/) + /s/ + /əl/. The c is a historical spelling artifact; in practice, you don’t articulate a /k/ or a /s/ by itself—the /s/ blends with the following /əl/ producing a soft, quick ending.
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- US: /ˈməsəl/ with a mid central vowel in the second syllable; keep rhoticity off the word. - UK: /ˈmʌsəl/ or /ˈməsəl/ with slightly more open first vowel; - AU: /ˈməsəl/ with a relaxed /ə/ and a clipped /s/; vowels may be centralized; - In all accents, the emphasis remains on the first syllable. - Focus on the alveolar /s/ timing so the ending /əl/ lands smoothly.
Muscle derives from the Latin musculus, meaning ‘little mouse,’ a term reportedly inspired by ancient observers who imagined a contracting muscle would twitch under the skin like a small, hidden creature. The diminutive -ulus indicates “little mouse,” a metaphor used in late Latin and early English anatomists for the visible movement of a muscle when flexed. The Old French muscul, and later the Middle English musculen, carried the sense of a body tissue that moves bones. By the 16th century, the spelling muscle in English had stabilized to its current form, retaining the silent c and the eu pronunciation shift. In medical and anatomical usage, “muscle” broadened to refer to any contractile tissue of the body, while colloquial English extended the sense to “muscle” as strength or power. The term has thus traveled from a vivid anatomical metaphor into everyday language, still keeping the core idea of moving force or power through tissue. First known use in English appears around the 15th–16th centuries in anatomical texts influenced by Latin.
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Muscle" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Muscle" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Muscle"
-tle sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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