motion: Meaning and Definition of

mo•tion

Pronunciation: (mō'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. the action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement.
  2. power of movement, as of a living body.
  3. the manner of moving the body in walking; gait.
  4. a bodily movement or change of posture; gesture.
  5. a proposal formally made to a deliberative assembly: to make a motion to adjourn.
  6. an application made to a court or judge for an order, ruling, or the like.
  7. a suggestion or proposal.
  8. an inward prompting or impulse; inclination: He will go only of his own motion.
  9. melodic progression, as the change of a voice part from one pitch to another.
    1. a piece of mechanism with a particular action or function.
    2. the action of such a mechanism.
  10. to do something halfheartedly, routinely, or as a formality or façade.
  11. in active operation; moving: The train was already in motion when he tried to board it.
—v.t.
  1. to direct by a significant motion or gesture, as with the hand: to motion a person to a seat.
—v.i.
  1. to make a meaningful motion, as with the hand; gesture; signal: to motion to someone to come.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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