kinetics
Americannoun
noun
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another name for dynamics
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the branch of mechanics, including both dynamics and kinematics, concerned with the study of bodies in motion
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the branch of dynamics that excludes the study of bodies at rest
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the branch of chemistry concerned with the rates of chemical reactions
Etymology
Origin of kinetics
Explanation
In physics, the study of motion is called kinetics. An astronomer investigating kinetics might be interested in the precise way the planets move. Physical kinetics is also known as dynamics, and its primary concern is the way bodies move when forces (such as gravity) are acting on them. In chemistry and biochemistry, kinetics is all about reaction rates. A chemist focused on kinetics studies the rate of various chemical reactions under varying conditions. The term kinetics stems from the Greek kinetikos, "putting in motion."
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.
Meanwhile, another photographic medium was in ascendance, one that favored kinetics over color, movement over stillness—the movies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
With expertise in biophysics, Chauvier and Nils Walter, U-M professor of chemistry, biophysics, utilized their advanced single molecule fluorescence microscopes to analyze the kinetics of the structure.
From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2024
Is it strange to suggest that, 35 years on, after becoming numbed by synthetic superhero kinetics, Woo’s brand of over-the-top now feels more grounded?
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2024
The modeling shows that natural blocking and unblocking kinetics of NMDA-receptors can let in a small current when neurons are not spiking.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2024
They possessed a sense of kinetics that translated to the stage.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
