something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.
the goal or object of a person's actions.
Her motive was revenge.
(in art, literature, and music) a motif.
causing, or tending to cause, motion.
pertaining to motion.
prompting to action.
constituting a motive or motives.
the reason for a certain course of action, whether conscious or unconscious
a variant of motif
of or causing motion or action
a motive force
of or acting as a motive; motivating
What does motive mean? A motive is something that causes a person to act in a certain way, as in Luciana’s motive for studying was the F she got on the last exam. A motive can also be the reward or benefit received for completing an action in a certain way or time, as in Yosef’s motive for signing up for the hike was to climb to the top of the mountain. Motive can also describe something as relating to motion or movement, such as a motive engine. A common misuse of this form is auto motive. The term automotive comes from the term, but it is a standalone word, not a phrase. Example: We need to identify a motive before we can continue investigating.
Motive, incentive, inducement apply to whatever moves one to action. Motive is, literally, something that moves a person; an inducement, something that leads a person on; an incentive, something that inspires a person. Motive is applied mainly to an inner urge that moves or prompts a person to action, though it may also apply to a contemplated result, the desire for which moves the person: His motive was a wish to be helpful. Inducement is never applied to an inner urge, and seldom to a goal: The pleasure of wielding authority may be an inducement to get ahead. It is used mainly of opportunities offered by the acceptance of certain conditions, whether these are offered by a second person or by the factors of the situation: The salary offered me was a great inducement. Incentive was once used of anything inspiring or stimulating the emotions or imagination: incentives to piety; it has retained of this its emotional connotations, but (rather like inducement ) is today applied only to something offered as a reward, and offered particularly to stimulate competitive activity: to create incentives for higher achievement. See reason.
First recorded in 1325–75; (for the adjective) Middle English, from Middle French motif, from Medieval Latin mōtīvus “serving to move,” from Latin mōt(us) “moved” (past participle of movēre “to move”; see move) + -īvus -ive; noun derivative of the adjective
Your reason for doing something is your motive. Your motive to go to school every day is to learn. Or maybe the thought of your parents' anger and a run-in with the truant officer is motive enough. The word motive comes from the Latin words motivus, meaning moving, and movere, meaning to move. Think of motive as the thing that moves you to act. You often hear of motive in the context of crime––a suspect’s fingerprints may be on the murder weapon, but a detective won’t understand the crime until he understands the motive. What made the killer act?
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S&P Global said Wednesday it reached an agreement with a group led by majority investor Motive Partners to acquire With Intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
He's released murder mystery adventure Loco Motive - a game he’s been making with his brother for the last three years.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2024
As well as Fiennes and Scott, the best actor nominees are Mark Gatiss for “The Motive and the Cue,” James Norton for “A Little Life” and David Tennant for “Macbeth.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 14, 2024
The other nominees include Sam Mendes for “The Motive and the Cue,” which debuted last spring at the National Theater.
From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2024
I cannot abide how little we know other men’s Motive Parts, I speculate might there be a Manner in which we might map the Springs of the Brain & its Excitations?
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
