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lost motion

American

noun

Machinery.

motion of a machine or mechanism, especially a reciprocating one, during which no useful work is performed.
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.

See Examples For:

lost motion

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

This will keep up all the slack and lost motion of the screw and its nut.

From Paper-Cutting Machines A Primer of Information about Paper and Card Trimmers, Hand-Lever Cutters, Power Cutters and Other Automatic Machines for Cutting Paper (Typographic Technical Series Part 1, No. 10) by David Grayson

In the first of these a proper fit is obtained when the surfaces are in full contact, and the enveloped piece will move without undue friction or lost motion when the surfaces are oiled.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

By cripes! there ain't no lost motion with these guys.

From The Pathless Trail by Arthur O. (Arthur Olney) Friel

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023