What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
General information only. This article explains the basics and is not medical advice. For anything about your own health, talk to a doctor or other qualified professional.
Quick answer
Measured by the force it can apply, the masseter, the main jaw muscle, is usually called the strongest muscle in the human body. Working together, the jaw muscles can close the teeth with a force of about 900 newtons (200 pounds) at the molars. But the answer depends on how you define “strongest.”
It depends on the measure
| Definition of “strongest” | Muscle |
|---|---|
| Most force for its size | Masseter (jaw) |
| Largest and most powerful overall | Gluteus maximus (buttocks) |
| Hardest-working | Heart, beating about 100,000 times a day without rest |
| Strongest pull at one moment | Uterus during childbirth, by some measures |
| Most pressure against the ground | Soleus (calf), which keeps you upright |
| Most endurance | Muscles of the eye, which move thousands of times a day |
Why the masseter wins on force
The masseter is short and thick, and it works with a powerful lever system: the jaw bone pivots near the ear. This lets it press the back teeth together with remarkable force for its size. The highest human bite forces ever recorded are well over 1,000 newtons.
The tongue myth
You may have heard that the tongue is the strongest muscle. It isn’t. The tongue is actually a group of eight muscles, and while it’s very flexible and never seems to tire, it isn’t especially forceful.
How many muscles do we have?
Humans have more than 600 skeletal muscles, making up about 40% of body weight in adults. There are three kinds:
- Skeletal: move bones; you control them
- Cardiac: only in the heart; automatic
- Smooth: in organs like the stomach and blood vessels; automatic
For other body records, see the smallest bone and the largest internal organ. The heart’s four chambers are explained in how many chambers the human heart has.
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