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.
Funds owning commodity-tied companies are benefiting from persistent inflation; Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF is up 20% in 2026.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
Dr. Mehdi Boroujerdi, a pharmaceutical researcher and former professor, has conducted an in depth review of creatine in the Handbook of Creatine and Creatinine In Vivo Kinetics.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
Maybe this story will inform a closeted Parkinson’s patient about programs like Kaizen Kinetics and empower them to pick up the phone and join.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2025
"Ruben was one of the best students and for that reason he had a one-week internship at Manchester United," says Antonio Veloso - professor at the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon.
From BBC • Nov. 2, 2024
Kinetics, ki-net′iks, n. the science which treats of the action of force in producing or changing motion.—adjs.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
