Meaning & use
biceps
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
The large muscle at the front of the upper arm that bends the elbow.
Grammar: The plural is also biceps, though bicepses is sometimes used in medical writing.
Patterns
- biceps muscle
- flex your biceps
- tone your biceps
He flexed his biceps to show off his muscles.
She felt a sharp pain in her biceps after lifting weights.
The biceps is one of the main muscles used when you curl a dumbbell.
Word forms
| plural | biceps |
|---|---|
| plural (rare) | bicepses |
Common combinations
- biceps muscle
- The biceps muscle helps you bend your arm.
- flex your biceps
- He flexed his biceps in front of the mirror.
- tone your biceps
- These exercises will help you tone your biceps.
- biceps curl
- She added biceps curls to her workout routine.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bicep
- Informal and often considered incorrect; use biceps in formal writing.
Word family
- bicipital adjective
- Relating to the biceps muscle.
Commonly confused: biceps or triceps? biceps or bicep?
biceps vs triceps
The triceps is the muscle at the back of the upper arm that straightens the elbow, while the biceps bends it.
biceps vs bicep
Many people say 'bicep' for the singular, but the standard form is biceps for both singular and plural.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
Biceps is the standard singular and plural form, so 'strong biceps' is correct. 'Bicep' is not standard, and 'bicepses' is rare and used only in technical contexts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biceps”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.