on the move
110
3.9
- idiom
- I'm used to being on the move.
- always on the move
- constantly on the move
- people on the move
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Watch on YouTubeAnd I said to AB we're we're on the move.
- And I said to AB we're we're on the move.
- They're probably not there because they're always on the move.
- But all over Europe people are on the move.
- For what it's worth, yes, I don't drink coagulated coffee and they're constantly on the move.
- Whereas if you zoom out, you realise people are often on the move in many different places in equally dramatic ways.
- That's someone that you need to schedule it in with, All right, That's an individual where, OK, we recognize he's on the go, he's on the move.
Examples
-
The students of this country and the world are again on the move.
Academic text (2001) -
We're on the move.
-
We'll have to talk on the move because I have limited time.
-
At few times in history have so many people been on the move.
Academic text (2008) -
How do you get energy to stay on the move all day?
Fiction book (1990) -
As a people of faith, we are a people on the move.
Academic text (2008) -
He's constantly on the move, traveling the world in the course of his work.
Fiction book (1995) -
Now that the surveying season has finally begun and we're on the move, I treasure these even more.
Fiction book (1999) -
I'm on the move.
-
I enjoy being on the move as it keeps my days exciting and full of new experiences.
Synonyms
550
3.4
Travelling from place to place for work, like a band or sports team
286
1.0
Not still and going from one place to another
34
3.9
A person who is always busy and moves from one task or place to another
23
4.1
Moving from place to place without a fixed home
21
4.9
People who move from place to place instead of living in one home
19
3.9
Moving from place to place rather than living in one place
7
7.9
Traveling from place to place for work
1
8.2
A person who moves from place to place, never staying long
1
5.0
People who move to different places to find work at certain times of the year
1
9.9
Traveling from place to place as part of work or life
Antonyms
How Mobile
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes transparently from 'on' (indicating a state or position) + 'move' (motion/change), so the sense 'in motion; actively traveling or changing location' is directly inferable from the constituents. The article 'the' does not block this compositional reading, and the figurative extension to being busy or active remains clearly linked to the literal notion of movement, a pattern common across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely understand it.
Etymology
On the move comes from the clear image of people or animals walking from one place to another, so they are literally on the move. That's why it now means 'actively traveling or changing places'.