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motion

motion

269 5.5
A suggestion in a meeting that people vote on
  • noun
  • /ˈmoʊʃən/
  • Formal
: moción
  • During the meeting, the member proposed a motion for a vote on the new policy.
  • make a motion
  • introduce a motion
  • pass a motion

One of those proposing this motion was Idi Amin.

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Examples

  • And then all those not in favour of the proposition, OK, I think the motion passes.

  • And that had been completely denied before a motion to put all this back in.

  • So they file a motion saying, look, judge, we just want you to throw this out.

  • So when will that motion be laid?

  • I'm gonna grant the motion.

  • Please, a vote for this motion would not be meaningless.

  • The first order of business was a motion to form a permanent organization, which carried unanimously.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Accordingly, the court approved the government's motion for an exclusion of time.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Seems that there's been a motion to create a new fraternity on our campus.

  • After a short recess, Drummond makes a formal motion to dismiss the entire panel.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

proposal
vsmotion
837 2.9

A plan or suggestion put forward for others to consider

is the formal meeting suggestion intended for discussion and voting
resolution
vsmotion
  • Formal
469 3.7

A formal decision agreed on by a group after a vote

is the proposal stage that comes before discussion and voting
question
vsmotion
  • Informal
29 6.1

A formal proposal in a meeting that members vote on

is the same formal assembly suggestion often called by a different procedural name

Idioms

poetry in motion
  • Literature
4 4.9

Very graceful, beautiful movement often seen in dance or sport

Start a series of actions that lead to later changes

1 8.6

A joking phrase that says skill matters more than size

motion of my ocean
  • Literature
9.9

A deep feeling you have when something moves you deeply

Compounds

A story that uses moving images and sound, like a movie

slow motion
  • Specialized
61 3.2

A way of showing action in film or video that happens more slowly than real life

Feeling dizzy and sick when you travel in cars, boats or planes

perpetual motion
  • Specialized
10 9.1

Movement that keeps going forever without any extra energy

The act of going ahead toward a goal

law of motion
  • Specialized
5 3.9

A rule that shows how pushes and pulls change how things move, for example by starting or stopping

4 9.9

A machine that runs forever without any extra energy

3 3.5

Three basic rules that explain how objects move and push each other in physics

3 3.8

Smooth, graceful movement that looks continuous without sudden stops

An American group that gives the Oscars every year for work in movies

relative motion
  • Specialized
2 6.1

Movement of one object measured from another or from a person watching

A camera that takes many pictures quickly to make a movie when played

Brownian motion
  • Specialized
1 7.3

Tiny particles in a liquid or gas move randomly when molecules hit them

third law of motion
  • Specialized
1 4.2

Every push on an object causes an equal push back in the opposite direction

1 3.9

Every force causes an equal force in the opposite direction

A long roll of plastic with many pictures that goes in a movie camera

A public show where moving pictures and sound tell a story, like a film at a cinema

orbital motion
  • Specialized
1 5.3

Movement of one object around another in space, like a planet around a star

first law of motion
  • Specialized
1 4.1

An object stays still or keeps moving at the same speed and direction unless a force acts on it

apparent motion
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A visual effect that makes still images look like they are moving, as in movies

1 4.5

An object stays still or keeps moving in the same straight line unless a force acts on it

second law of motion
  • Specialized
1 4.7

A rule that says how a force makes an object move faster depending on its mass

1 4.5

A rule that a force changes an object's motion more when the force is bigger or the object is lighter

harmonic motion
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A movement that goes back and forth around a middle point, like a pendulum

motion study
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A careful look at how a job is done to find faster, easier steps

A rule that describes how planets move around the Sun in oval paths

rotary motion
  • Specialized
1 3.6

Movement in which something spins around a fixed line

1 6.3

A repeating back and forth movement where the pull back gets stronger the farther it moves from center

periodic motion
  • Specialized
1 4.1

Movement that repeats at regular times, with each cycle taking the same amount of time

time-motion study
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A careful timing of movements to find faster ways to do a job

1 8.6

A situation that gets worse slowly in public while people cannot stop it

time and motion study
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A study that measures how long each part of a job takes to find a faster way

axial motion
  • Specialized
1 6.9

Movement when something turns around its own middle like a spinning top

Going forward toward a goal or place

A person who likes watching movies and often goes to the cinema

1 5.0

Taking moving pictures with a camera to make films

time-and-motion study
  • Specialized
1 6.0

People watch how workers do a job to find the fastest, easiest way to do it

decelerated motion
  • Specialized
7.2

Movement that slows down over time

Movement where speed changes by different amounts over time

Movement where speed decreases by the same amount every second

How Formal

resolution
  • Formal
469 3.7
motion
  • Formal
269 5.5
proposal
837 2.9
suggestion
602 1.4

Surface Forms

motion singular
motions plural

Morphology

motion = move (semi-transparent) = move + tion

The formal sense 'proposal' is historically a metaphorical extension of 'move' (to move or propose something), so the connection exists but is more specialized.

Etymology

Motion for a formal proposal comes from the idea of 'moving' something forward, from Latin movere 'to move', the same root as English move. So, to make a motion in a meeting is to 'move' an idea into discussion and for people to vote on.