MUSCLE CONTRACTION

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does muscle contraction mean? 

• MUSCLE CONTRACTION (noun)
  The noun MUSCLE CONTRACTION has 1 sense:

1. (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)

  Familiarity information: MUSCLE CONTRACTION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MUSCLE CONTRACTION (noun)

Meaning:

(physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

contraction; muscle contraction; muscular contraction

Hypernyms ("muscle contraction" is a kind of...):

shortening (act of decreasing in length)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "muscle contraction"):

contracture (an abnormal and usually permanent contraction of a muscle)

tetanus (a sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulses)

uterine contraction (a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal)

Braxton-Hicks contraction; false labor (painless contractions of the muscles of the uterus that continue throughout pregnancy with increasing frequency)

vaginismus (muscular contraction that causes the vagina to close; usually an anxiety reaction before coitus or pelvic examination)