motion

/ˈmoʊʃən/

/ˈmʌʊʃən/

Other forms: motions; motioned; motioning

Motion is the way things get from place to place. The ball rolling down a hill is in motion, and as Isaac Newton once proved, it will remain in motion until it hits a wall or something else that makes it stop.

When motion is used as a noun, it describes movement, like the motion that propels a car from one end of the highway to another. When used as a verb, motion means to signal or direct. "A restaurant patron will motion to the server when he's ready for the check." Someone who is just "going through the motions" doesn't have to move at all, because they're just pretending.

Definitions of motion

1. noun

   the act of changing location from one place to another
   “police controlled the motion of the crowd”

   synonyms: move, movement

   types:

   approach, approaching, coming

   the act of drawing spatially closer to something

   advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion, procession, progress, progression

   the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)

   locomotion, travel

   self-propelled movement

   lunge, lurch

   the act of moving forward suddenly

   travel, traveling, travelling

   the act of going from one place to another

   chase, following, pursual, pursuit

   the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture

   ascending, ascension, ascent, rise

   the act of changing location in an upward direction

   descent

   the act of changing your location in a downward direction

   swing, swinging, vacillation

   changing location by moving back and forth

   return

   the act of going back to a prior location

   coast, glide, slide

   the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it

   slippage

   failing to hold or slipping out of place

   flow, stream

   the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression

   crawl

   a very slow movement

   hurrying, speed, speeding

   changing location rapidly

   displacement, translation

   the act of uniform movement

   shift, shifting

   the act of moving from one place to another

   haste, hurry, rush, rushing

   the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner

   maneuver, manoeuvre, play

   a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill

   migration

   the movement of persons from one country or locality to another

   emigration, expatriation, out-migration

   migration from a place (especially migration from your native country in order to settle in another)

   immigration, in-migration

   migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there)

   access

   the act of approaching or entering

   closing, closure

   approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap

   landing approach

   the approach to a landing field by an airplane

   push

   an effort to advance

   career, life history

   the general progression of your working or professional life

   march

   a steady advance

   clear sailing, easy going, plain sailing

   easy unobstructed progress

   brachiation

   swinging by the arms from branch to branch

   walk, walking

   the act of traveling by foot

   walk

   the act of walking somewhere

   step

   the act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down

   gait

   a horse's manner of moving

   run, running

   the act of running; traveling on foot at a fast pace

   jog, lope, trot

   a slow pace of running

   crawl, crawling, creep, creeping

   a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body

   circle, circuit, lap

   movement once around a course

   circumnavigation

   traveling around something (by ship or plane)

   peregrination

   traveling or wandering around

   traversal, traverse

   travel across

   roving, vagabondage, wandering

   travelling about without any clear destination

   wayfaring

   traveling (especially on foot)

   crossing

   traveling across

   driving

   the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal

   horseback riding, riding

   travel by being carried on horseback

   air, air travel, aviation

   travel via aircraft

   jump, parachuting

   descent with a parachute

   journey, journeying

   the act of traveling from one place to another

   leg, stage

   a section or portion of a journey or course

   staging

   travel by stagecoach

   on the road, on tour

   travelling about

   junketing

   taking an excursion for pleasure

   seafaring, water travel

   travel by water

   commutation, commuting

   the travel of a commuter

   tracking, trailing

   the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind

   shadowing, tailing

   the act of following someone secretly

   stalk, stalking

   the act of following prey stealthily

   levitation

   the act of raising (a body) from the ground by presumably spiritualistic means

   heave, heaving

   the act of lifting something with great effort

   climb, mount

   the act of climbing something

   soar, zoom

   the act of rising upward into the air

   dive, nose dive, nosedive

   a steep nose-down descent by an aircraft

   abseil, rappel

   (mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body

   swoop

   a swift descent through the air

   crash dive

   a rapid descent by a submarine

   drop

   the act of dropping something

   collapse, flop

   the act of throwing yourself down

   reentry

   the act of entering again

   remand

   the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial)

   sideslip, skid, slip

   an unexpected slide

   snowboarding

   the act of sliding down a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard

   release, spill, spillage

   the act of allowing a fluid to escape

   flood, outpouring, overflow

   a large flow

   acceleration, quickening, speedup

   the act of accelerating; increasing the speed

   deceleration

   the act of decelerating; decreasing the speed

   scud, scudding

   the act of moving along swiftly (as before a gale)

   run-up

   the approach run during which an athlete gathers speed

   leapfrog

   advancing as if in the child's game, by leaping over obstacles or competitors

   dance step, step

   a sequence of foot movements that make up a particular dance

   bolt, dash

   the act of moving with great haste

   scamper, scramble, scurry

   the act of rushing about hastily in an undignified way

   takeaway

   the act of taking the ball or puck away from the team on the offense (as by the interception of a pass)

   figure

   a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating

   completion, pass completion

   (American football) a successful forward pass in football

   ball hawking

   a skillful maneuver in catching balls or in stealing the ball from the opposing team

   assist

   (sports) the act of enabling another player to make a good play

   icing, icing the puck

   (ice hockey) the act of shooting the puck from within your own defensive area the length of the rink beyond the opponent's goal

   jugglery

   the performance of a juggler

   obstruction

   getting in someone's way

   baseball play

   (baseball) a play executed by a baseball team

   footwork

   the manner of using the feet

   shot, stroke

   (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand

   stroke

   any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing

   blitz, linebacker blitzing, safety blitz

   (American football) defensive play that tries to break through the offensive line

   mousetrap, trap play

   (American football) a play in which a defensive player is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage and then blocked off as the runner goes through the place the lineman vacated

   gold rush

   a large migration of people to a newly discovered gold field

   type of:

   change

   the action of changing something
2. noun

   a change of position that does not entail a change of location
   “the reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise”

   synonyms: motility, move, movement

   types:

   abduction

   (physiology) moving of a body part away from the central axis of the body

   adduction

   (physiology) moving of a body part toward the central axis of the body

   agitation

   the act of agitating something; causing it to move around (usually vigorously)

   body English

   a motion of the body by a player as if to make an object already propelled go in the desired direction

   circumduction

   a circular movement of a limb or eye

   disturbance

   the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion

   fetal movement, foetal movement

   motion of a fetus within the uterus (usually detected by the 16th week of pregnancy)

   dart, flit

   a sudden quick movement

   gesture

   motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling

   headshake, headshaking

   the act of turning your head left and right to signify denial or disbelief or bemusement

   inclination, inclining

   the act of inclining; bending forward

   eversion, everting, inversion

   the act of turning inside out

   inversion, upending

   turning upside down; setting on end

   jerk, jerking, jolt, saccade

   an abrupt spasmodic movement

   kick, kicking

   a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics

   kneel, kneeling

   supporting yourself on your knees

   lurch, pitch, pitching

   abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance)

   eye movement

   the movement of the eyes

   opening

   the act of opening something

   prostration

   the act of assuming a prostrate position

   reach, reaching, stretch

   the act of physically reaching or thrusting out

   reciprocation

   alternating back-and-forth movement

   reclining

   the act of assuming or maintaining a reclining position

   retraction

   the act of pulling or holding or drawing a part back

   retroflection, retroflexion

   the act of bending backward

   rotary motion, rotation

   the act of rotating as if on an axis

   closing, shutting

   the act of closing something

   sitting

   the act of assuming or maintaining a seated position

   posing, sitting

   (photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)

   snap

   the act of snapping the fingers; movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand

   squat, squatting

   the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels

   sweep

   a movement in an arc

   toss

   an abrupt movement

   quiver, quivering, vibration

   the act of vibrating

   wave

   a movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon

   flicker, flutter, waver

   the act of moving back and forth

   standing

   the act of assuming or maintaining an erect upright position

   span, straddle

   the act of sitting or standing astride

   stroke

   a single complete movement

   squirm, wiggle, wriggle

   the act of wiggling

   eurhythmics, eurhythmy, eurythmics, eurythmy

   the interpretation in harmonious bodily movements of the rhythm of musical compositions; used to teach musical understanding

   windup

   (baseball) the series of motions made by a pitcher prior to releasing a pitch

   jab, jabbing, poke, poking, thrust, thrusting

   a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)

   mudra

   ritual hand movement in Hindu religious dancing

   bob

   a short abrupt inclination (as of the head)

   nod

   the act of nodding the head

   stoop

   an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward

   nystagmus

   involuntary movements of the eyeballs; its presence or absence is used to diagnose a variety of neurological and visual disorders

   saccade

   a rapid, jerky movement of the eyes between positions of rest

   circumvolution

   the act of turning or winding or folding around a central axis

   feather, feathering

   turning an oar parallel to the water between pulls

   gyration, whirling

   the act of rotating in a circle or spiral

   pivot

   the act of turning on (or as if on) a pivot

   pronation

   rotation of the hands and forearms so that the palms face downward

   spin, twirl, twist, twisting, whirl

   the act of rotating rapidly

   spiral

   flying downward in a helical path with a large radius

   supination

   rotation of the hands and forearms so that the palms face upward

   turn, twist

   turning or twisting around (in place)

   twist, wind, winding

   the act of winding or twisting

   shaking

   the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements

   stirring

   agitating a liquid with an implement

   shake, wag, waggle

   causing to move repeatedly from side to side

   worrying

   the act of moving something by repeated tugs or pushes

   careen, rock, sway, tilt

   pitching dangerously to one side

   overturn, turnover, upset

   the act of upsetting something

   shudder, tremor

   an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)

   outreach

   the act of reaching out

   key stroke, keystroke

   the stroke of a key; one depression of a key on a keyboard

   turnout

   (ballet) the outward rotation of a dancer's leg from the hip

   beat

   a stroke or blow

   bow

   a stroke with a curved piece of wood with taut horsehair strands that is used in playing stringed instruments

   carnival, circus

   a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment

   disorganisation, disorganization

   the disturbance of a systematic arrangement causing disorder and confusion

   disruption, perturbation

   the act of causing disorder

   commotion, din, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, tumult

   the act of making a noisy disturbance

   furor, furore

   a sudden outburst (as of protest)

   havoc, mayhem

   violent and needless disturbance

   battle royal, melee, scrimmage

   a noisy riotous fight

   agitation, excitement, hullabaloo, turmoil, upheaval

   disturbance usually in protest

   outburst, tumultuous disturbance

   a sudden violent disturbance

   rampage, violent disorder

   violently angry and destructive behavior

   derangement, overthrow, upset

   the act of disturbing the mind or body

   swimming kick

   a movement of the legs in swimming

   blow, buffet

   a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon

   type of:

   change

   the action of changing something
3. noun

   the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
   synonyms: gesture

   types:

   sign

   a gesture that is part of a sign language

   gesticulation

   a deliberate and vigorous gesture or motion

   beck

   a beckoning gesture

   facial expression, facial gesture

   a gesture executed with the facial muscles

   flourish

   a showy gesture

   previous question

   a motion calling for an immediate vote on the main question under discussion by a deliberative assembly

   shrug

   a gesture involving the shoulders

   wafture, wave, waving

   the act of signaling by a movement of the hand

   V sign

   a sign (for victory); making a V with the index and middle fingers

   nod

   a sign of assent or salutation or command

   bow, bowing, obeisance

   the act of bending the head, body, or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

   sign of the cross

   a gesture with the right hand moving to form a cross; used by Catholics as a profession of faith

   curtsey, curtsy

   bending the knees; a gesture of respect made by women

   emoticon

   a representation of a facial expression (as a smile or frown) created by typing a sequence of characters in sending email

   gape

   an expression of openmouthed astonishment

   face, grimace

   a contorted facial expression

   frown, scowl

   a facial expression of dislike or displeasure

   grin, grinning, smile, smiling

   a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement

   laugh

   a facial expression characteristic of a person laughing

   snarl

   an angry vicious expression

   straight face

   a serious facial expression giving no evidence of interest or amusement

   wink

   closing one eye quickly as a signal

   wince

   the facial expression of sudden pain

   brandish, flourish

   the act of waving

   genuflection, genuflexion

   the act of bending the knees in worship or reverence

   kotow, kowtow

   a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

   scrape, scraping

   a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility)

   salaam

   a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation

   type of:

   visual communication

   communication that relies on vision
4. noun

   a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
   synonyms: movement

   types:

   crustal movement, tectonic movement

   movement resulting from or causing deformation of the earth's crust

   approach, approaching

   the event of one object coming closer to another

   passage, passing

   the motion of one object relative to another

   deflection, deflexion

   the movement of the pointer or pen of a measuring instrument from its zero position

   bend, bending

   movement that causes the formation of a curve

   change of location, travel

   a movement through space that changes the location of something

   undulation, wave

   (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth

   jitter

   a small irregular movement

   periodic motion, periodic movement

   motion that recurs over and over and the period of time required for each recurrence remains the same

   heave

   (geology) a horizontal dislocation

   backlash, rebound, recoil, repercussion

   a movement back from an impact

   kick, recoil

   the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired

   seek

   the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk

   squeeze, wring

   a twisting squeeze

   cam stroke, stroke, throw

   the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam

   turn, turning

   a movement in a new direction

   twist, wrench

   a jerky pulling movement

   undulation

   wavelike motion; a gentle rising and falling in the manner of waves

   moving ridge, wave

   one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)

   wobble

   an unsteady rocking motion

   commotion, whirl, whirlwind

   confused movement

   Brownian motion, Brownian movement, pedesis

   the random motion of small particles suspended in a gas or liquid

   ascension

   (astronomy) the rising of a star above the horizon

   circulation

   free movement or passage (as of cytoplasm within a cell or sap through a plant)

   creep

   a slow longitudinal movement or deformation

   breaker, breakers, surf

   waves breaking on the shore

   backwash, wake

   the wave that spreads behind a boat as it moves forward

   swash

   the movement or sound of water

   riffle, ripple, rippling, wavelet

   a small wave on the surface of a liquid

   gravitation wave, gravity wave

   (physics) a wave that is hypothesized to propagate gravity and to travel at the speed of light

   sine wave

   a wave whose waveform resembles a sine curve

   oscillation, vibration

   (physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean

   fluctuation

   a wave motion

   seiche

   a wave on the surface of a lake or landlocked bay; caused by atmospheric or seismic disturbances

   standing wave, stationary wave

   a wave (as a sound wave in a chamber or an electromagnetic wave in a transmission line) in which the ratio of its instantaneous amplitude at one point to that at any other point does not vary with time

   traveling wave, travelling wave

   a wave in which the medium moves in the direction of propagation of the wave

   acoustic wave, sound wave

   (acoustics) a wave that transmits sound

   wave form, wave shape, waveform

   the shape of a wave illustrated graphically by plotting the values of the period quantity against time

   blast wave, shock wave

   a region of high pressure travelling through a gas at a high velocity

   crestless wave, swell

   the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea

   lift, rise

   a wave that lifts the surface of the water or ground

   billow, surge

   a large sea wave

   tidal wave

   a wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun

   tidal wave

   an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tide

   tsunami

   a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption

   roll, roller, rolling wave

   a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore

   harmonic motion

   a periodic motion in which the displacement is either symmetrical about a point or is the sum of such motions

   bounce, bouncing

   rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts)

   resilience, resiliency

   an occurrence of rebounding or springing back

   instroke

   the stroke of an engine piston moving away from the crankshaft

   outstroke

   the stroke of an engine piston moving toward the crankshaft

   comber

   a long curling sea wave

   white horse, whitecap

   a wave that is blown by the wind so its crest is broken and appears white

   gravitation

   movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction

   levitation

   movement upward by virtue of lightness

   descent

   a movement downward

   shimmy

   an abnormal wobble in a motor vehicle (especially in the front wheels)

   entering, entrance

   a movement into or inward

   fall

   a movement downward

   flow, flowing

   the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)

   carom, ricochet

   a glancing rebound

   deflection, deflexion, refraction

   the amount by which a propagating wave is bent

   reversal, turn around

   turning in an opposite direction or position

   swerve, yaw

   an erratic deflection from an intended course

   impulse, pulsation, pulse, pulsing

   (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)

   flap, flapping, flutter, fluttering

   the motion made by flapping up and down

   gyration, revolution, rotation

   a single complete turn (axial or orbital)

   advance, progress, progression

   a movement forward

   ascension, ascent, rise, rising

   a movement upward

   spread, spreading

   process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space

   stampede

   a wild headlong rush of frightened animals (horses or cattle)

   translation

   a uniform movement without rotation

   coming back, return

   the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction

   volution

   a rolling or revolving motion

   type of:

   happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent

   an event that happens
5. noun

   a formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote
   “he made a motion to adjourn”

   synonyms: question

   type of:

   proposal

   something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)
6. noun

   a request to a court for a ruling or order
   type of:

   petition, postulation, request

   a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority
7. noun

   a state of change
   “they were in a state of steady motion”

   antonyms:

   motionlessness

   a state of no motion or movement

   types:

   palpitation, quiver, quivering, shakiness, shaking, trembling, vibration

   a shaky motion

   perpetual motion

   motion that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy; impossible in practice because of friction

   precession

   the motion of a spinning body (as a top) in which it wobbles so that the axis of rotation sweeps out a cone

   flow, stream

   something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously

   tremolo

   (music) a tremulous effect produced by rapid repetition of a single tone or rapid alternation of two tones

   tremor

   shaking or trembling (usually resulting from weakness or stress or disease)

   type of:

   state

   the way something is with respect to its main attributes
8. noun

   an optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object
   synonyms: apparent motion, apparent movement, movement

   type of:

   optical illusion

   an optical phenomenon that results in a false or deceptive visual impression
9. verb

   show, express or direct through movement
   synonyms: gesticulate, gesture

   types:

   wink

   signal by winking

   exsert, extend, hold out, put out, stretch forth, stretch out

   thrust or extend out

   shrug

   raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation

   clap, spat

   clap one's hands together

   acclaim, applaud, clap, spat

   clap one's hands or shout after performances to indicate approval

   bless, sign

   make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate

   nod

   express or signify by nodding

   cross oneself

   make the sign of the cross; in the Catholic religion

   bow, bow down

   bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head

   shake

   shake (a body part) to communicate a greeting, feeling, or cognitive state

   beckon, wave

   signal with the hands or nod

   hyperextend

   extend a joint beyond its normal range

   bravo

   applaud with shouts of `bravo' or 'brava'

   conge, congee

   perform a ceremonious bow

   type of:

   communicate, intercommunicate

   transmit thoughts or feelings