movement

American  

[moov-muhnt] / ˈmuv mənt /

noun

• movements
  plural

1. 

   the act, process, or result of moving.

   Antonyms:

   stasis, inertia

2. a particular manner or style of moving.

3. Usually movements. actions or activities, as of a person or a body of persons.

4. Military, Naval. a change of position or location of troops or ships.

5. abundance of events or incidents.

   Synonyms:

   eventfulness

6. rapid progress of events.

7. the progress of events, as in a narrative or drama.

8. Fine Arts. the suggestion of motion in a work of art, either by represented gesture in figurative painting or sculpture or by the relationship of structural elements in a design or composition.

9. a progressive development of ideas toward a particular conclusion.

   the movement of his thought.

10. a series of actions or activities intended or tending toward a particular end.

    the movement toward universal suffrage.

11. the course, tendency, or trend of affairs in a particular field.

12. a diffusely organized or heterogeneous group of people or organizations tending toward or favoring a generalized common goal.

    the antislavery movement; the realistic movement in art.

13. the price change in the market of some commodity or security.

    an upward movement in the price of butter.

14. bowel movement.

15. the working parts or a distinct portion of the working parts of a mechanism, as of a watch.

16. Music.

    1. a principal division or section of a sonata, symphony, or the like.

    2. motion; rhythm; time; tempo.

17. Prosody. rhythmical structure or character.

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movement British  

/ ˈmuːvmənt /

noun

1. 1. the act, process, or result of moving

   2. an instance of moving

2. the manner of moving

3. 1. a group of people with a common ideology, esp a political or religious one

   2. the organized action of such a group

4. a trend or tendency in a particular sphere

5. the driving and regulating mechanism of a watch or clock

6. (often plural) a person's location and activities during a specific time

7. 1. the evacuation of the bowels

   2. the matter evacuated

8. music a principal self-contained section of a symphony, sonata, etc, usually having its own structure

9. tempo or pace, as in music or literature

10. fine arts the appearance of motion in painting, sculpture, etc

11. prosody the rhythmic structure of verse

12. a positional change by one or a number of military units

13. a change in the market price of a security or commodity

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movement Cultural  

1. In music, a self-contained division of a long work; each movement usually has its own tempo. A long, undivided composition is said to be in one movement.

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Synonym Usage

See motion.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countermovement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• movements
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of movement

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French; see move, -ment

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Explanation

The noun movement means a change of position or location. If you're watching a play, you might notice that an actor's repeated movement from one side of the stage to the other shows her character's nervousness. A campaign to create some change or achieve a goal is another kind of movement, like the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. A major section of a musical piece is also called a movement. Each movement of a symphony can have a different tempo and feel, working to build the piece toward a dramatic finish. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

movement movements

The company is partnering with the prediction market Kalshi to let eligible U.S. customers bet on the price movement of certain assets, starting with bitcoin and other crypto assets in November.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Still, Treuer admits, “there is a movement from the local to the quasi-universal through the three books, the same mixture in all three, just with different emphases on historical, reported and memoiristic material.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Partial curfews variously restricting the movement of young people and gatherings were announced for cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon in the south as well as Lille and other towns in the north.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The combination of physical movement, natural light exposure and social interaction when walking outdoors may create multiple protective effects that complement each other.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

I peer up and down the building for any movement, but there’s no sign that anyone is home.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

"France serves as a protest model for other movements witnessed in northern Italy, Brussels and Portugal," Maillard said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Fortunately, Roman's optical system was already so well aligned that only incredibly small movements were necessary to improve its performance.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

These groups include the so-called gilets jaunes 'yellow vest' movement, who demonstrated against cost-of-living hikes for over a year from 2018 - becoming one of the longest-lived protest movements in French history.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Suk’s scholarship focuses on the processes of constitutional amendment and reform and the feminist constitutional movements.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Her fingers extended, the smallest of movements, until they brushed Adiah’s fur.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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Related Words

• change
• crusade
• demonstration
• evolution
• faction
• flow
• group
• organization
• party
• shift
• tendency
• transfer
• trend
• unrest

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