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Glite Dictionary
forward motion

forward motion

6 3.7
The act of going ahead toward a goal
  • noun
translation icon : movimiento hacia adelante
  • And they create this little pocket right behind them where someone else can make the same forward motion with less effort.
  • stop forward motion
  • slow forward motion
  • transfer to forward motion

Dance requires twists and gestures, backward and forward motion.

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Examples

  • After years of hard work and dedication, she finally achieved forward motion in her career.

  • In each of these examples, there is high energy, considerable forward motion, and a highly restricted flow.

    Academic text (1993)

  • And forward motion is our goal.

    Larger Than Life (1996)

  • But again, the plane can have no forward motion relative to the ground.

    Blog text (1)

  • The planes both had significant forward motion relative to the ground.

    Blog text (1)

  • Things changed only when their forward motion ended with a jolt.

    Blog text (18)

  • Finally, once again, I realized the secret to forward motion is in the pelvis.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Father understood the meaning of maintenance, and to keep the farm in forward motion, he adequately taught himself the art of reconstruction.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Forward motion is everything.

    Jerry Maguire (1996)

  • The front wheels were then straightened and oriented for forward motion.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

move
vsforward motion
∞ 1.1

An action or decision to achieve a goal

is specifically the act of going toward a stated objective rather than a decision
progress
vsforward motion
∞ 2.5

Forward change toward a goal or better state

is about a single act of going toward a goal rather than ongoing change
movement
vsforward motion
696 1.5

A change of place when something moves

is specifically about action directed toward a goal rather than any position change
advance
vsforward motion
329 3.1

Progress toward a goal or a new discovery

is the single act of going toward an objective rather than broad development
advancement
vsforward motion
119 4.1

Progress or growth that makes something better

centres on a single action of going toward a goal rather than gradual improvement
progression
vsforward motion
62 3.8

A process of moving forward or developing over time

is about one action of going toward a goal rather than staged change
headway
vsforward motion
34 5.6

Progress toward a goal, often slowly and with effort

is the basic act of going toward a goal without stress on obstacles
onward motion
vsforward motion
3.8

Going forward toward a goal or place

has identical meaning but uses a different expression

Antonyms

retrograde
2 7.9

Moving backward or against the usual direction

How Fast

surge
143 4.2
forward motion
6 3.7
slow-moving
17 2.3
stillness
38 3.5

Surface Forms

forward motion singular
forward motions plural

Morphology

forward + motion

The meaning 'the act of moving ahead' is directly and compositionally derived from 'forward' (toward the front) + 'motion' (movement), following a straightforward noun phrase pattern. This semantic combination is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase forward motion comes from a simple picture: forward means moving ahead and motion means movement, like a train pushing along the track or a person taking steady steps. So it now means 'to move ahead' or 'make progress' toward a goal.