momentum

American  

[moh-men-tuhm] / moʊˈmɛn təm /

noun

plural

momenta, momentums

1. force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events.

   The car gained momentum going downhill. Her career lost momentum after two unsuccessful films.

2. Also called linear momentum.  Mechanics. a quantity expressing the motion of a body or system, equal to the product of the mass of a body and its velocity, and for a system equal to the vector sum of the products of mass and velocity of each particle in the system.

3. Philosophy. moment.

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momentum British  

/ məʊˈmɛntəm /

noun

1.  p.  physics the product of a body's mass and its velocity See also angular momentum

2. the impetus of a body resulting from its motion

3. driving power or strength

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momentum Scientific  

/ mō-mĕn′təm /

plural

momenta

1. A vector quantity that expresses the relation of the velocity of a body, wave, field, or other physical system, to its energy. The direction of the momentum of a single object indicates the direction of its motion. Momentum is a conserved quantity (it remains constant unless acted upon by an outside force), and is related by Noether's theorem to translational invariance. In classical mechanics, momentum is defined as mass times velocity. The theory of Special Relativity uses the concept of relativistic mass. The momentum of photons, which are massless, is equal to their energy divided by the speed of light. In quantum mechanics, momentum more generally refers to a mathematical operator applied to the wave equation describing a physical system and corresponding to an observable; solutions to the equation using this operator provide the vector quantity traditionally called momentum. In all of these applications, momentum is sometimes called linear momentum.

2. See also angular momentum impulse

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momentum Cultural  

1. In physics, the property or tendency of a moving object to continue moving. For an object moving in a line, the momentum is the mass of the object multiplied by its velocity (linear momentum); thus, a slowly moving, very massive body and a rapidly moving, light body can have the same momentum. (See Newton's laws of motion.)

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Discover More

Figuratively, momentum can refer to the tendency of a person or group to repeat recent success: “The Bears definitely have momentum after scoring those last two touchdowns.”

Etymology

Origin of momentum

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin mōmentum; moment

Example Sentences

Despite the challenges, rebuilding efforts have gained momentum in recent months after a slow start.

From Los Angeles Times

Savers Value Village’s U.S. sales in the three months ended Sept. 27 were up 10.5%, momentum that has continued through October, the start of the period when sales had usually dipped, Maher said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not even a blockbuster third-quarter earnings report at the end of October resulted in sustained momentum.

From Barron's

One thing is for sure: Rocket Lab has plenty of momentum on its side entering 2026.

From Barron's

It points to an economy that has failed to hold on to the momentum of the prior quarter, when output rebounded strongly with a recovery in exports and rise in government spending.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• energy
• power
• strength