motion

The word “motion” means movement from one place or position to another. In plain terms, either physical movement, or a formal proposal put to a group or a judge.

“Motion” is pronounced MOH-shuhn (/ˈmoʊ.ʃən/ in IPA).

Here is “motion” used in a sentence: “The camera captured the motion of the falling leaves.”

Depending on how it is used, “motion” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “motion” comes from Latin. From Latin mōtiō ("movement"), from movēre ("to move") — the same root behind move, motor, and motive.

“Motion” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Motion” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: movement from one place or position to another.

The two are close, but motion is the more abstract, scientific term for the state of moving, while movement often refers to a specific act of moving or a change of position. Physicists study motion; a dancer makes a movement. Motion also implies continuous change, whereas a movement can be a single gesture.

In everyday and scientific use, motion is often grouped into a few kinds: linear or straight-line motion, circular motion around a centre, rotational motion or spinning, oscillating motion that repeats back and forth, and random motion with no set pattern. Each describes a different way an object changes position.

The opposite of motion is rest, stillness, or immobility — a state in which nothing moves and position does not change. In physics an object is "at rest" when it stays put relative to its surroundings. Everyday antonyms include stillness, stagnation, and inertia, depending on the context.

Anything that changes position shows motion: a car driving down a road, a ball rolling across a floor, planets orbiting the sun, or your hand waving. Even slow, unseen changes — a glacier creeping forward — count as motion, because the object moves from one place to another over time.