motor

American  

[moh-ter] / ˈmoʊ tər /

noun

• motors
  plural

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)

• motors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• motored,
  past participle,  past
• motoring
  present participle

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

   They motored up the coast.

verb (used with object)

• motors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• motored,
  past participle,  past
• motoring
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• multimotor
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• motors
  plural

Participles

• motoring
  present
• motored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• motor
  simple
• motors
  simple
• have motored
  perfect
• has motored
  perfect
• am motoring
  progressive
• are motoring
  progressive
• is motoring
  progressive
• have been motoring
  perfect progressive
• has been motoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• motored
  simple
• had motored
  perfect
• was motoring
  progressive
• were motoring
  progressive
• had been motoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will motor
  simple
• will have motored
  perfect
• will be motoring
  progressive
• will have been motoring
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

motor motors motored motoring

That’s two or three times the cost of a typical 14-foot jon boat with an outboard motor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Financed by Walter Chrysler, the motor magnate, the skyscraper's construction began in 1928 and was completed two years later.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Her efforts are in ample evidence in the exciting opening moments of “Drive My Car,” with a rhythm section that sounds, appropriately enough, like a motor thrumming to life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Average US diesel prices have surged more than 70 percent to $6.39 a gallon since the start of the Iran war, according to AAA motor club data.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

It keeps talking, like a boat motor with no shut-off valve, saying more stuff I want him to know, even though most of me knows he doesn’t care.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The new model's electric motors produce about 1,000 horsepower, allowing it to accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Chief among Jonas’s callouts is China’s control of magnetic rare earths, which are used to make motors that are key to actuation systems.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

They have become a hallmark of modern devices, with smartphones, watches and video game controllers among those containing small motors that move in response to specific electronic signals.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Calls have grown for these levies to be extended to hybrid vehicles, which combine electric motors and internal combustion engines.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

But the big fishing trawlers, with their fancy, fast motors, had put them out of work.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

The day after Ida struck, Story motored through the bayou in his boat, photographing his camp and others to reassure neighbors their cabins had survived.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

As the boat motored across the sea, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila said other nations should come to Cuba's aid.

From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026

For some reason—the police cited low tide; Mafart claimed the problem was fishermen at the pickup spot—Dillais motored past Teal Park heading east.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

Arráez, meanwhile, motored up the line and through the base, then slammed into Dubón.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025

Then we started the engine and motored down the inky East River with the tall, checkered buildings blinking down at us.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

The rest—the models, the step and repeats, the Veuve Clicquot, the British motoring journalists complaining about the size of said sashimi—felt like a solid, traditional 9.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Average UK diesel prices have hit a record high, according to the RAC motoring organisation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Diesel prices have hit an all-time high of 199.18p per litre, according to the motoring organisation RAC, as the war in the Middle East continues to push up the cost of fuel.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Micron stock has risen 18% in the past month and the latest memory-chip prices can keep it motoring higher.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

I take off up the path toward the top of the hill, keeping my head down, motoring fast, Viola after me, Manchee trying to keep himself from biting at his tail as we run.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

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