motive power
1
5.5
- noun
- Specialized
:
potencia motriz
- Electric motors in each wheel hub provide the motive power.
Examples
-
As long as the motive power of the front hub exceeds the power of the rider, even by a fraction, the bike is only being towed by the motor.
Blog text (19) -
The Society sponsored an Engine Committee in 1911, but the group was concerned more with diesel engines featuring low motive power than with transportation systems.
Academic text (2005) -
And the motive power here is a pair of yaks.
-
God is also the thing inside him which is pushing him on—the motive power.
Blog text (8) -
A lunar barge was a lot like its terrestrial equivalent, in that it had no motive power of its very own, but needed to be pulled by another vehicle.
Fiction book (2001) -
An energy-efficient 25-hp motor now converts up to 93.9 percent of electricity into motive power.
Academic text (1999) -
These two branches were to furnish the motive power within the federal system, which was in turn to coexist with the state governments; the elements of government having a popular constituency were looked to for the solution of the numerous and varied problems that the future would bring.
Academic text (2007) -
The only other way to use these directly for motive power is an electrified rail system (which is badly needed, but will take decades to get in place, and will always have some holes and gaps requiring other transportation sources).
Blog text (29) -
You don't really need a motor, but not having some form of motive power can be problematic, so a good compromise is using your dinghy as a yawl boat.
Blog text (19) -
Electric motors in each wheel hub provide the motive power to drive the vehicle forward.
Synonyms
∞
1.5
Energy that makes machines and lights work
∞
1.6
Power from things like electricity or fuel used to make machines work
82
6.2
A force that pushes something forward, like an engine or wind
56
5.1
The force that moves something forward, like the push from an engine
39
4.1
A force that makes something move forward
14
4.4
A group of parts that push a vehicle forward, like an engine
1
7.0
A sudden force that makes something start moving faster
Power that makes a person, animal, or thing move
Antonyms
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjectival-noun composition: 'motive' (producing motion) modifies 'power' (energy), so the meaning 'power that causes motion' is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
The phrase motive power comes from the idea of motive meaning 'to move' and power meaning 'force' or 'energy', so picture an engine pushing a wheel to make a machine move. That's why it means the energy or force that makes a vehicle or machine move.