lost motion
Americannoun
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motion of a machine or mechanism, especially a reciprocating one, during which no useful work is performed.
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motion between parts in an assembly due to manufacturing tolerances, adjustments, slip, or wear.
Etymology
Origin of lost motion
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has over 15,000 parts, but so carefully is it made that lost motion is reduced practically to zero.
From Scientific American • Jan. 14, 2013
Ambidextrous, he has a knack of changing the ball from one hand to another at the last second and getting it in the clear without a bit of lost motion.
From Time Magazine Archive
By cripes! there ain't no lost motion with these guys.
From The Pathless Trail by Friel, Arthur O. (Arthur Olney)
When, therefore, such a pin passes through the nut, lost motion must be taken up by placing an additional or a thicker washer behind the nut.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
Sure he did," Morris said, "although from what this here newspaper reporter tells me, Abe, there was a whole lot of lost motion about the investigation.
From Potash and Perlmutter Settle Things by Glass, Montague
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
