the action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement.
power of movement, as of a living body.
the manner of moving the body in walking; gait.
a bodily movement or change of posture; gesture.
a proposal formally made to a deliberative assembly: to make a motion to adjourn.
Law. an application made to a court or judge for an order, ruling, or the like.
a suggestion or proposal.
an inward prompting or impulse; inclination: He will go only of his own motion.
Music. melodic progression, as the change of a voice part from one pitch to another.
Machinery.
a piece of mechanism with a particular action or function.
the action of such a mechanism.
verb (used with object)
to direct by a significant motion or gesture, as with the hand: to motion a person to a seat.
verb (used without object)
to make a meaningful motion, as with the hand; gesture; signal: to motion to someone to come.
Idioms
go through the motions, to do something halfheartedly, routinely, or as a formality or façade.
in motion, in active operation; moving: The train was already in motion when he tried to board it.
Origin of motion
1350–1400;Middle Englishmocio(u)n < Latinmōtiōn- (stem of mōtiō), equivalent to mōt(us) (past participle of movēre to move) + -iōn--ion
Related formsmo·tion·al, adjectivemo·tion·er, nounin·ter·mo·tion, nounnon·mo·tion, nounself-mo·tion, nounun·der·mo·tion, nounun·mo·tioned, adjectiveun·mo·tion·ing, adjective
Synonym study
1. Motion,move,movement refer to change of position in space. Motion denotes change of position, either considered apart from, or as a characteristic of, something that moves; usually the former, in which case it is often a somewhat technical or scientific term: perpetual motion. The chief uses of move are founded upon the idea of moving a piece, in chess or a similar game, for winning the game, and hence the word denotes any change of position, condition, or circumstances for the accomplishment of some end: a shrewd move to win votes.Movement is always connected with the person or thing moving, and is usually a definite or particular motion: the movements of a dance.3. bearing, carriage.
Sir Andrew. born 1952, British poet and biographer; his collections include Pleasure Steamers (1978) and Public Property (2002): poet laureate (1999–2009)
motion
noun
the process of continual change in the physical position of an object; movementlinear motion Related adjective: kinetic
a movement or action, esp of part of the human body; a gesture
the capacity for movement
a manner of movement, esp walking; gait
a mental impulse
a formal proposal to be discussed and voted on in a debate, meeting, etc
lawan application made to a judge or court for an order or ruling necessary to the conduct of legal proceedings
British
the evacuation of the bowels
excrement
part of a moving mechanism
the action of such a part
musicthe upward or downward course followed by a part or melody. Parts whose progressions are in the same direction exhibit similar motion, while two parts whose progressions are in opposite directions exhibit contrary motionSee also parallel (def. 3)
go through the motions
to act or perform the task (of doing something) mechanically or without sincerity
to mimic the action (of something) by gesture
in motionoperational or functioning (often in the phrases set in motion, set the wheels in motion)
verb
(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive)to signal or direct (a person) by a movement or gesture
Derived Formsmotional, adjective
Word Origin for motion
C15: from Latin mōtiō a moving, from movēre to move
late 14c., "suggestion; process of moving," from Old French mocion "movement, motion; change, alteration" (13c.), from Latin motionem (nominative motio) "a moving, a motion; an emotion," from past participle stem of movere "to move" (see move (v.)). Motion picture attested from 1896.
motion
v.
late 15c., "to request, petition" (obsolete), from motion (n.). The sense in parliamentary procedure first recorded 1747; with meaning "to guide or direct by a sign, gesture, movement" it is attested from 1787. Related: Motioned; motioning.
