muster
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to find enough of a quality like courage, energy, or support within yourself to do something.
v.to summon or elicit a particular internal quality or reaction, often with effort.
Simple“She finally managed to muster the courage to ask for a pay rise.”
In context“Despite his exhaustion, the candidate struggled to muster enough enthusiasm to finish the final speech of the campaign trail.”
UsageOften used with 'up' as in 'to muster up the courage'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to bring soldiers together for a formal meeting or to check who is there.
v.to assemble troops or a crew for inspection, roll call, or service.
Simple“The captain ordered the sailors to muster on the deck at dawn.”
In context“The general spent the week attempting to muster a force large enough to defend the border before the winter snows arrived.”
UsageCan be used transitively (to muster troops) or intransitively (the troops mustered).
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to gather livestock, like sheep or cattle, into one place.
v.to gather or round up livestock, particularly in large-scale farming contexts.
Simple“It took the farmers all day to muster the sheep from the hills.”
In context“The station hands used helicopters and motorbikes to muster the cattle across the vast northern territory.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is most common in Australian and New Zealand English regarding sheep or cattle stations.
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.a formal gathering of people, usually for an inspection or to count them.
n.a formal assembly or roll call, typically of military personnel or a ship's crew.
Simple“The soldiers stood in a straight line for the morning muster.”
In context“Any sailor who failed to appear for the emergency muster was subject to immediate disciplinary action by the first mate.”
“Perhaps Infantino can muster a majority among Fifa’s 211 members.”
“Iraq (-11) were the whipping boys in Group I – the closest to a group of death as the 48-team format could muster with France, Norway and Senegal, who all progressed in predictable fashion.”
From Middle English musteren, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mostrer, Middle French monstrer, moustrer (whence the noun monstre, which gave the English noun), from Latin mōnstrō (“to show”), from moneō (“to admonish”). Cognate with French montrer (“to show”), Italian mostrare (“to show”), Spanish mostrar (“to show”). See also monster.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.