motion

Syllables: mot·ionUK/ˈməʊ.ʃən//ˈmoʊ.ʃən/

motion noun: a change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with respect to time.

Noun

motion (countable and uncountable, plural motions)

A change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with respect to time.
- This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its motion.1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], →OCLC
- Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95
Synonyms:

move, movement

Antonyms:

rest, stasis
(countable) A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.
- The motion to amend is now open for discussion.
- Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
(obsolete) An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.
- when God gave him reason, he gave him freedom to choose, for reason is but choosing; he had bin else a meer artificiall Adam, such an Adam as he is in the motions.1644, John Milton, Areopagitica
from κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
- I say, it is no uneven jot, to pass from the more faint and obscure examples of Spermatical life to the more considerable effects of general Motion in Minerals, Metalls, and sundry Meteors, whose easie and rude shapes may have no need of any Principle of Life, or Spermatical form distinct from the...1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 53
Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.
- Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from God.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London
A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.
(euphemistic) A movement of the bowels; the product of such movement.
- From that time to the present (three weeks) she has taken one pill every night, and had one comfortable motion every morning without the aid of any other aperient, and her health has much improved.1857, William Braithwaite, The Retrospect of Medicine
Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)
- The independent motions of different parts sounding together constitute counterpoint.1878, George Grove, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians
(obsolete) A puppet, or puppet show.
- What motion's this? the model of Nineveh?c. 1613, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, “Wit at Several Weapons. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC...
A piece of moving mechanism, such as on a steam locomotive.
- [...] three 2-4-2 tank engines were secured from the Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds. As the line began on the Quay in Bideford, the locomotives had their motion encased, as shown in the illustrations on page 414.1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 459
(slang, uncountable) Success; achievements, especially those that others cannot match.
- You've never got no motion, lad / You've never got no action2025, “Phantom”, in Rebel, performed by EsDeeKid and Rico Ace

Verb

motion (third-person singular simple present motions, present participle motioning, simple past and past participle motioned)

To gesture indicating a desired movement.
- He motioned for me to come closer.
- Mom motioned me over and ordered me to sit by her side.
(proscribed) To introduce a motion in parliamentary procedure.
To make a proposal; to offer plans.
- Here's Gloucester, a foe to citizens,
  One that still motions war and never peace1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Proper noun capitalized: Motion

Motion (plural Motions)

A surname.

motion meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

motion in Hindi

state of progression from one place to another: गति gati
parliamentary proposal: प्रस्ताव prastāv
change of place or position: चलना calnā

motion in Tamil

state of progression from one place to another: இயக்கம் iyakkam

motion in Urdu

motion: سر sar, رفتار raftār, تحریک tahrīk
motion, movement: تحریک tahrīk

More languagesFewer languages

motion in Bengali: গতি gotoi
motion in Telugu: చలనము calanamu, గతి gati, కదలిక kadalika, నటన naṭana
motion in Malayalam: ഥർവണം thaṟvaṇaṁ, ചലനം calanaṁ, അയനം ayanaṁ, ഗമനം gamanaṁ
motion in Kannada: ಚಲನೆ, ಗತಿ, ಹಾವಭಾವ, ಅಭಿನಯ
motion in Punjabi: ਹਰਕਤ harkat
motion in Gujarati: ગતિ gati
motion in Odia: ଅୟନ ayana, ସାଦ sāda
motion in Sanskrit: रीति rītí, याम yā́ma, वी vī́, चरित caritá
motion in Tagalog: mungkahi, mosyon
motion in Arabic: حَرَكَة ḥaraka
motion in Indonesian: gerakan, mosi
motion in Persian: حرکت harakat, روش raveš, جابجایی jâbejâyi
motion in Thai: การเคลื่อนที่
motion in Vietnamese: cử động, vận động

Examples of motion in a sentence

If we want the motion to pass, we will need a second.
They are awaiting a decision on the motion from the bench.
In his Pensées, Pascal mentioned some first principles recognized within his metaphysics: space, time, motion, and number.

All 40 example sentences with motion

Synonyms of motion

Antonyms

rest
stasis

Forms of motion

Noun
plural	motions
Verb
third-person singular present	motions
present participle	motioning
past participle	motioned
past	motioned
Proper noun
plural	Motions

Plural of motion: motions

Origin of motion

Inherited from Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin mōtiō (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move”).

Possibly a variant of Mowson.

Words formed from motion

Phrases with motion

57 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with motion

Questions about motion

What does motion mean?: Motion means a change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with respect to time.
What is motion in Hindi?: Motion in Hindi is गति (gati), प्रस्ताव (prastāv), चलना (calnā). See Motion meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is motion?: Motion can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce motion?: Motion is pronounced /ˈməʊ.ʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of motion?: The plural of motion is motions.

Words near motion in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-motion.ogg.

Cite this entry: “motion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/motion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.