motion
♦ mo|tion /m'oʊʃən/ (motions motioning motioned)
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Motion is the activity or process of continually changing position or moving from one place to another.
...the laws governing light, sound, and motion...
One group of muscles sets the next group in motion...
The wind from the car's motion whipped her hair around her head.
= movement
2 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A motion is an action, gesture, or movement.
He made a neat chopping motion with his hand.
= movement
3 [N-COUNT]
A motion is a formal proposal or statement in a meeting, debate, or trial, which is discussed and then voted on or decided on.
The conference is now debating the motion and will vote on it shortly...
Opposition parties are likely to bring a no-confidence motion against the government...
4 [VERB] V for n to-inf, V n prep/adv, V n to-inf, V to n to-inf
If you motion to someone, you move your hand or head as a way of telling them to do something or telling them where to go.
She motioned for the locked front doors to be opened...
He stood aside and motioned Don to the door...
I motioned him to join us...
He motioned to her to go behind the screen.
= signal, gesture
5
see also slow motion, time and motion
6 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone is going through the motions, you think they are only saying or doing something because it is expected of them without being interested, enthusiastic, or sympathetic.
`You really don't care, do you?' she said quietly. `You're just going through the motions.'
7 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, PHR after v
If a process or event is in motion, it is happening. If it is set in motion, it is happening or beginning to happen.
His job as England manager begins in earnest now his World Cup campaign is in motion...
Her sharp, aggressive tone set in motion the events that led to her downfall.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone sets the wheels in motion, they take the necessary action to make something start happening.
I have set the wheels in motion to sell Endsleigh Court.mo|tion pic|ture (motion pictures)
[N-COUNT]
A motion picture is a film made for cinema. (mainly AM)
It was there that I saw my first motion picture.
= movieper|pet|ual mo|tion
also perpetual-motion
[N-UNCOUNT]
The idea of perpetual motion is the idea of something continuing to move for ever without getting energy from anything else.slow mo|tion
also slow-motion
[N-UNCOUNT] usu in N
When film or television pictures are shown in slow motion, they are shown much more slowly than normal.
It seemed almost as if he were falling in slow motion...time and mo|tion
[N-UNCOUNT] usu N n
A time and motion study is a study of the way that people do a particular job, or the way they work in a particular place in order to discover the most efficient methods of working.
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Motion is the activity or process of continually changing position or moving from one place to another.
...the laws governing light, sound, and motion...
One group of muscles sets the next group in motion...
The wind from the car's motion whipped her hair around her head.
= movement
2 [N-COUNT] usu with supp
A motion is an action, gesture, or movement.
He made a neat chopping motion with his hand.
= movement
3 [N-COUNT]
A motion is a formal proposal or statement in a meeting, debate, or trial, which is discussed and then voted on or decided on.
The conference is now debating the motion and will vote on it shortly...
Opposition parties are likely to bring a no-confidence motion against the government...
4 [VERB] V for n to-inf, V n prep/adv, V n to-inf, V to n to-inf
If you motion to someone, you move your hand or head as a way of telling them to do something or telling them where to go.
She motioned for the locked front doors to be opened...
He stood aside and motioned Don to the door...
I motioned him to join us...
He motioned to her to go behind the screen.
= signal, gesture
5
see also slow motion, time and motion
6 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone is going through the motions, you think they are only saying or doing something because it is expected of them without being interested, enthusiastic, or sympathetic.
`You really don't care, do you?' she said quietly. `You're just going through the motions.'
7 [PHRASE] usu v-link PHR, PHR after v
If a process or event is in motion, it is happening. If it is set in motion, it is happening or beginning to happen.
His job as England manager begins in earnest now his World Cup campaign is in motion...
Her sharp, aggressive tone set in motion the events that led to her downfall.
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone sets the wheels in motion, they take the necessary action to make something start happening.
I have set the wheels in motion to sell Endsleigh Court.mo|tion pic|ture (motion pictures)
[N-COUNT]
A motion picture is a film made for cinema. (mainly AM)
It was there that I saw my first motion picture.
= movieper|pet|ual mo|tion
also perpetual-motion
[N-UNCOUNT]
The idea of perpetual motion is the idea of something continuing to move for ever without getting energy from anything else.slow mo|tion
also slow-motion
[N-UNCOUNT] usu in N
When film or television pictures are shown in slow motion, they are shown much more slowly than normal.
It seemed almost as if he were falling in slow motion...time and mo|tion
[N-UNCOUNT] usu N n
A time and motion study is a study of the way that people do a particular job, or the way they work in a particular place in order to discover the most efficient methods of working.