inertia: Meaning and Definition of

in•er•tia

1. inertness, esp. with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.
2. electric inertia.
1. the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force.
2. an analogous property of a force:electric inertia.
3. lack of activity, esp. as applied to a uterus during childbirth when its contractions have decreased or stopped.