motor

Syllables: mo·torUK/ˈməʊtə//ˈmoʊtəɹ/

motor noun: a machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.

Image: Luigi Chiesa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

motor (plural motors)

A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
- Near-synonyms: drive, engine (sometimes synonymous)
- The door can close by itself because there's a small motor built into it.
Synonyms:

drive, engine
(now colloquial outside attributive use) A motor car, or automobile, sometimes extended to other powered vehicles, such as goods vehicles.
- Nice motor!
- Motor insurance is expensive for youngsters.
(figuratively) A source of power for something; an inspiration; a driving force.

Synonyms:

engine
Any protein capable of converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
(archaic, poetic) The controller or prime mover of the universe; God.
(slang) The fermenting mass of fruit that is the basis of pruno, or "prison wine".

Synonyms:

kicker

Adjective

motor (not comparable)

Relating to the ability to move.
- She has excellent motor skills.
Propelled by an internal combustion engine (as opposed to a steam engine or turbine).
- A motor yacht for its size has about 30 per cent more accommodations than a steamer of the same size.1915 June, “Many Yachts to Go in Commission”, in The American Marine Engineer

Verb

motor (third-person singular simple present motors, present participle motoring, simple past and past participle motored)

(dated, transitive) To make a journey by motor vehicle; to drive.
- On Saturday we motored down to Plymouth.
- The practice used to be for such consignments to be loaded as tranships to the large centre, but this involved rather slow transits, and to a considerable extent these consignments are now motored to the large centre, and in the average case the transit is improved by a day.1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, pages 336–337
Synonyms:

moto
(transitive) To rotate a jet engine or turboprop using the engine's starter, without introducing fuel into the engine.
- During startup, the engine should be motored for 20 to 30 seconds to allow the shafts to straighten out, as they may have become bowed under their own weight while the airplane was sitting on the ground.
(figuratively, informal, intransitive) To progress at a brisk pace.
- Sales were slow at first, but now things are really motoring.
- More recently, ORR has been developing its knowledge and skills in cyber and digital security. Prosser says this is really "motoring".2023 November 15, Ian Prosser talks to Stefanie Foster, “A healthy person is a more productive person”, in RAIL, number 996, page 34
(intransitive, slang) To leave.
- I gotta motor.

Proper noun capitalized: Motor

Motor

(alternative) Alternative form of Mator (“Samoyedic language”).

motor meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

motor in Hindi

machine that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy: मोटर moṭar, इंजन iñjan

motor in Urdu

machine that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy: موٹَر moṭar, اِنْجَن injan

motor in Bengali

machine that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy: মোটর mōṭor, ইঞ্জিন injin

motor in Telugu

machine that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy: యంత్రము yantramu
colloquial: motor car — see also automobile: చిన్న కారు cinna kāru

More languagesFewer languages

motor in Nepali: मोटर moṭar
motor in Pashto: انجن enjǝn, ماشين māšin
motor in Arabic: مُحَرِّك muḥarrik, مُوتُور mutūr
motor in Malay: motor, enjin
motor in Indonesian: motor, mesin, enjin
motor in Persian: موتَر mōtar, موتور motor, مُحَرِّک moharrek
motor in Thai: มอเตอร์ mɔɔ-dtə̂ə, เครื่องยนต์ krʉ̂ʉang-yon
motor in Vietnamese: động cơ, mô-tơ
motor in Myanmar: အင်ဂျင် anggyang, မော်တော် mautau

Examples of motor in a sentence

'However, you go and try your luck and see how you like it.' With that he flung himself into his motor and was off.1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:
The screeching of brakes, the monotonous blare of motor horns, the clip-clip of shoes on slippery pavements, the rustling of wet mackintoshes were all part of the great metropolis.1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 214:
Goods motors for which "A" licences are held are free to operate anywhere, to pick up the most remunerative traffic, and the points between which the best back loads are available.1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 338:
Well, if you ever plan to motor west / Jack, take my way, it's the highway that's the best / Get your kicks on Route 661946 April 22, Bobby Troup, “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”, in New Juke Box Hits, performed by Chuck Berry, published March 1961, side 2...

All 40 example sentences with motor

Synonyms of motor

Forms of motor

Noun
plural	motors
alternative form	motour
Verb
third-person singular present	motors
present participle	motoring
past participle	motored
past	motored

Plural of motor: motors

Origin of motor

From Middle English motour (“controller, prime mover; God”), from Latin mōtor (“mover; that which moves something”), from mōtō (“to set in motion”).

Phrases with motor

113 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with motor

11 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about motor

What does motor mean?: Motor means a machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
What is motor in Hindi?: Motor in Hindi is मोटर (moṭar), इंजन (iñjan). See Motor meaning in Hindi.
How do you use motor in a sentence?: 'However, you go and try your luck and see how you like it.' With that he flung himself into his motor and was off.
What part of speech is motor?: Motor can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce motor?: Motor is pronounced /ˈməʊtə/ (UK).
What is the plural of motor?: The plural of motor is motors.

Words near motor in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: motor (page history and authors); Motor (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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

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