motor

American  

[moh-ter] / ˈmoʊ tər /

noun

1. a comparatively small and powerful engine, especially an internal-combustion engine in an automobile, motorboat, or the like.

2. any self-powered vehicle.

3. a person or thing that imparts motion, especially a contrivance, as a steam engine, that receives and modifies energy from some natural source in order to utilize it in driving machinery.

4. Also called electric motor.  Electricity. a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, as an induction motor.

5. motors, stocks or bonds in automobile companies.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or operated by a motor.

2. of, for, by, or pertaining to motor vehicles.

   motor freight.

3. designed or for automobiles, their drivers, or their passengers.

   The hotel has a motor lobby in its parking garage for picking up and discharging passengers.

4. causing or producing motion.

5. Physiology. conveying an impulse that results or tends to result in motion, as a nerve.

6. Psychology, Physiology. Also of, relating to, or involving muscular movement.

   a motor response; motor images.

verb (used without object)

1. to ride or travel in an automobile; drive.

   They motored up the coast.

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly British. to drive or transport by car.

   He motored his son to school.

motor British  

/ ˈməʊtə /

noun

1. 1. the engine, esp an internal-combustion engine, of a vehicle

   2. ( as modifier )

      a motor scooter

2. Also called: electric motor.  a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy by means of the forces exerted on a current-carrying coil placed in a magnetic field

3. any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion

4. an indispensable part or player that moves a process or system along

5. 1. a car or other motor vehicle

   2. as modifier

      motor spares

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adjective

1. producing or causing motion

2. physiol

   1. of or relating to nerves or neurons that carry impulses that cause muscles to contract

   2. of or relating to movement or to muscles that induce movement

verb

1. (intr) to travel by car

2. (tr) to transport by car

3. informal (intr) to move fast; make good progress

4. (tr) to motivate

motor Scientific  

/ mō′tər /

1. A machine that uses energy, such as electric or chemical energy (as from burning a fuel), to produce mechanical motion.

2. See also engine

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1. Involving the muscles or the nerves that are connected to them.

2. Compare sensory

Other Word Forms

• multimotor
  noun

Etymology

Origin of motor

1580–90; < Latin mōtor mover, equivalent to mō- (variant stem of movēre to move ) + -tor -tor

Explanation

A motor runs your car, whizzes the blender and gets your golf cart going: it's simply a machine that converts energy into motion. Coming to us from a Latin word that means "to move," motor is certainly connected to the world of motion. Without the innovation of Ford motors, most of America wouldn't be able to get anywhere today. These days the motor is undergoing some serious revisions, as engineers look for a way to power things with less gasoline and more sunshine.

Example Sentences

But the situation was flipped on its head, as things so often are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, by the terrifying sight of a car engulfed in flames.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

Another helicopter will drop her onto the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Busch was scheduled to compete at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the upcoming holiday weekend in the United States.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Ford Motor Co. doubled its minimum wage to $5 daily in 1914, part of a $10,000,000 profit-sharing plan for 26,500 employees.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Also, we needed to use the Terraplane 8, which was strictly forbidden under an agreement with the Hudson Motor Car Company.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• cylinder
• generator
• transformer
• turbine