moment

American  

[moh-muhnt] / ˈmoʊ mənt /

noun

1. an indefinitely short period of time; instant.

   I'll be with you in a moment.

   Synonyms:

   twinkling, flash, trice, jiffy, second

2. Usually the moment the present time or any other particular time.

   He is busy at the moment.

3. a definite period or stage, as in a course of events; juncture.

   at this moment in history.

4. importance or consequence.

   a decision of great moment.

   Synonyms:

   momentousness, magnitude, weight, significance

5. a particular time or period of success, excellence, fame, etc..

   His big moment came in the final game.

6. Statistics. the mean or expected value of the product formed by multiplying together a set of one or more variates or variables each to a specified power.

7. Philosophy.

   1. an aspect of a thing.

   2. Obsolete. an essential or constituent factor.

8. Mechanics.

   1. a tendency to produce motion, especially about an axis.

   2. the product of a physical quantity and its directed distance from an axis.

      moment of area; moment of mass.

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moment British  

/ ˈməʊmənt /

noun

1. a short indefinite period of time

   he'll be here in a moment

2. a specific instant or point in time

   at that moment the doorbell rang

3. the present point of time

   at the moment it's fine

4. import, significance, or value

   a man of moment

5. physics

   1. a tendency to produce motion, esp rotation about a point or axis

   2. the product of a physical quantity, such as force or mass, and its distance from a fixed reference point See also moment of inertia

6. statistics the mean of a specified power of the deviations of all the values of a variable in its frequency distribution. The power of the deviations indicates the order of the moment and the deviations may be from the origin (giving a moment about the origin ) or from the mean (giving a moment about the mean )

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moment Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing moment

• at this point (moment)
• every minute (moment) counts
• for the moment
• have one's moments
• just a minute (moment)
• live for the moment
• never a dull moment
• not for a moment
• of the moment
• on the spur of the moment
• weak moment

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Related Words

See minute ¹. See importance.

Etymology

Origin of moment

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin mōmentum “motion, cause of motion,” hence, “influence, importance, essential factor, moment of time,” from movimentum (unattested), equivalent to mō- (variant stem of the verb movēre move ) + -mentum -ment

Example Sentences

"It's a good moment to make that jump."

From BBC

"This is a crucial moment: with global markets distorted by overcapacity and subsidy, a clear and ambitious domestic strategy is exactly what is required to ensure steelmaking not only survives in the UK but thrives."

From BBC

"The energy was really nice from the first moment and the fans recognised the team did everything from the first minute to the last and they were with us - beautiful, thanks."

From BBC

I said good-bye to some guests at the door and stood for a moment gazing up and down the Barteljorisstraat.

From Literature

Lizzie paused for a moment or two, then smiled across at me sympathetically, knowingly.

From Literature

Related Words

• bit
• date
• flash
• hour
• juncture
• minute
• occasion
• point
• stage
• time