From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmustermus‧ter1 /ˈmʌstə $ -ər/ ●○○ verb 1 TRY TO DO OR GET something[transitive] (also muster up something) to get enough courage, confidence, support etc to do something, especially with difficulty SYN summon (up)muster (up) the courage/confidence/energy etc to do something Finally I mustered up the courage to ask her out. Senator Newbolt has been trying to muster support for his proposals. ‘It’s going to be fine, ’ replied David, with as much confidence as he could muster.2 CROWD[intransitive, transitive] if soldiers muster, or if someone musters them, they come together in a group SYN gather In April 1185, he began to muster an army.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
muster• In their second innings Sri Lanka could only muster 256.• But it would have taken more courage than I could muster.• Opera debut as Susanna, mustered a big, bright sound from her very small stature.• And on the next day the Zuwaya did indeed muster a majority of 117 votes in the first count.• There were two knocks on the door before Graham could muster a reply.• Though Saskia musters all her forces to stave off adolescence, hormones are against her.• With more bravery than she had ever mustered before, Louisa retraced her steps.• Mandela mustered encouragement for the refugees, who are mostly Hutu.• Passengers were mustered to the lifeboats.muster (up) the courage/confidence/energy etc to do something• That you mustered the courage to come here in the first place-we know how disconcerting this sort of thing is for you.• It had taken the last half-hour to muster the courage to mention the subject yet again.• He was mustering up the courage to quit when Spider touched him on the shoulder.mustermuster2 noun 1 → pass muster (as something)2 [countable] literaryPMAGROUP OF PEOPLE a gathering together of soldiers so that they can be counted, checked etcExamples from the Corpus
muster• Mustering was administered by the counts, who were frequently accused of bribery and coercion in the tally of the muster.• And now that he had his muster here, what would the king do?• What did it matter what the Royal Society thought of H-2, if its mechanism did not pass muster with him?• Although they hail from Quebec, the hurdy-gurdy of this ensemble is sure to pass muster with the average colonial.• Critically surveying her reflection, she told herself she would pass muster.• The schools might not have been able to offer courses that would pass muster.• When it came to the physical attributes that Fred plainly valued, Lou Spooner passed muster.Origin muster1 (1300-1400) Old French monstrer, from Latin monstrare “to show” 