locomotion

Noun

locomotion (usually uncountable, plural locomotions)

1. (usually) The ability to move from place to place, or the act of doing so.
2. (usually) Self-powered motion by which a whole organism changes its location through walking, running, jumping, crawling, swimming, brachiating or flying.
   • So it is that one of the characteristics that the sperm whale shares with all cetaceans is that it swims by flexing its tail flukes dorso-ventrally, a less efficient way of swimming than that of its distant piscine ancestors, but a mode of locomotion that derives directly from the galloping of its...2011 September 22, Richard Shelton, “Sheep, pig, whale”, in Times Literary Supplement
   • The assessment also looks at reflexes, stationary (body control), locomotion (movement), grasping and visual-motor integration (eyes and hands coordinated).2017 June 9, Susan Scutti, “Study links mosquito spray to delayed motor skills in babies”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2022
3. (countable, usually, often preceded by definite article) A dance, originally popular in the 1960s, in which the arms are used to mimic the motion of the connecting rods of a steam locomotive.
   • Mr. Motian's own tunes, folk-simple locomotions of straight melody, fast or slow, with acres of room for interpretation, have accounted for some of the mistier sets.2005 February 7, Ben Ratliff, “New CD's”, in The New York Times