motor

[ moh-ter ]

/ ˈmoʊ tər /

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See synonyms for: motor / motored / motoring on Thesaurus.com

noun

a comparatively small and powerful engine, especially an internal-combustion engine in an automobile, motorboat, or the like.

any self-powered vehicle.

a person or thing that imparts motion, especially a contrivance, as a steam engine, that receives and modifies energy from some natural source in order to utilize it in driving machinery.

Also called electric motor. Electricity. a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, as an induction motor.

motors, stocks or bonds in automobile companies.

adjective

pertaining to or operated by a motor.

of, for, by, or pertaining to motor vehicles: motor freight.

designed or for automobiles, their drivers, or their passengers: The hotel has a motor lobby in its parking garage for picking up and discharging passengers.

causing or producing motion.

Physiology. conveying an impulse that results or tends to result in motion, as a nerve.

Psychology, Physiology.Also motoric. of, relating to, or involving muscular movement: a motor response; motor images.

verb (used without object)

to ride or travel in an automobile; drive: They motored up the coast.

verb (used with object)

Chiefly British. to drive or transport by car: He motored his son to school.

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Origin of motor

1580–90; <Latin mōtor mover, equivalent to mō- (variant stem of movēre to move) + -tor-tor

OTHER WORDS FROM motor

mul·ti·mo·tor, noun

Words nearby motor

motocross, motofacient, moton, motoneuron, moto perpetuo, motor, motorable, motor aphasia, motor area, motor ataxia, motorbicycle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use motor in a sentence

When a fan is driven by a motor, air enters the back and accelerates out the front.

The science behind how an aircraft glides|By Peter Garrison/Flying Mag|September 3, 2020|Popular-Science
Though air pollution vastly improved in recent decades—thanks largely to technology and policy aimed at motor vehicles—it remains a problem in many large cities.

City pavement is a big source of air pollution|Ula Chrobak|September 3, 2020|Popular-Science
For another, they’re smart cookies, meaning they can be trained to walk on a treadmill while the implant records from their motor cortex to predict the movement of each joint.

Neuralink’s Wildly Anticipated New Brain Implant: the Hype vs. the Science|Shelly Fan|September 1, 2020|Singularity Hub
Most vehicles today house internal-combustion engines, but cars with electric motors are gaining ground.

50 years ago, scientists were trying to develop a low-emission car|Erin Garcia de Jesus|September 1, 2020|Science News

Whatever the class, federal law restricts “low speed electric bicycle” motors with 750 watts of power.

Do You Want to Buy an E-Cargo Bike? Read This First.|Joe Lindsey|August 30, 2020|Outside Online
They can hear the sound of his boat's motor, growing louder as it comes over the horizon.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The female fan base tends to hold steady at 38 percent, according to Amanda Regan, a spokeswoman for Feld Motor Sports.

The Moms of Monster Jam Drive Trucks, Buck Macho Culture|Eliza Krigman|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The power delivered by the rocket motor was uneven and tricky to control.

Virgin Galactic’s Flight Path to Disaster: A Clash of High Risk and Hyperbole|Clive Irving|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The turbulent waters caused one of his oars to crack, which—without a motor or a sail—can be severely detrimental to his voyage.

Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother|Justin Jones|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rolls Royce Motor Cars is a subsidiary of BMW, who make the engines.

Nationalism on Four Wheels|Clive Irving|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To think,” said the younger Englishwoman to her sister, “of this wee mite travelling about in an open motor!

The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Under these conditions, the large motor B collapses and the pull-down P (which is connected with the organ pallet) rises.

The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
A big gray sedan stood in the middle of the road, the motor idling.

Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The action of the springs now serves to close the valves V, V1, and to open out the motor M, whereupon the process is repeated.

The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
As the valve V1 is open, the sound waves formed in the pipe P1 will govern the speed of vibration of the motor M.

The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

British Dictionary definitions for motor

motor

/ (ˈməʊtə) /

noun

the engine, esp an internal-combustion engine, of a vehicle
(as modifier)a motor scooter

Also called: electric motor a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy by means of the forces exerted on a current-carrying coil placed in a magnetic field

any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion

an indispensable part or player that moves a process or system along

mainly British a car or other motor vehicle
as modifiermotor spares

adjective

producing or causing motion

physiol

of or relating to nerves or neurons that carry impulses that cause muscles to contract
of or relating to movement or to muscles that induce movement

verb

(intr) to travel by car

(tr) British to transport by car

(intr) informal to move fast; make good progress

(tr) to motivate

Word Origin for motor

C16: from Latin mōtor a mover, from movēre to move

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for motor

motor

[ mō′tər ]

adj.

Causing or producing motion.

Of or being nerves that carry impulses from the nerve centers to the muscles.

Involving or relating to movements of the muscles.

Of or relating to an organism's overt reaction to a stimulus.

Scientific definitions for motor

motor

[ mō′tər ]

Noun

A machine that uses energy, such as electric or chemical energy (as from burning a fuel), to produce mechanical motion. See also engine.

Adjective

Involving the muscles or the nerves that are connected to them. Compare sensory.

motor

Origin of motor

OTHER WORDS FROM motor

Words nearby motor

Words related to motor

How to use motor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for motor

Word Origin for motor

Medical definitions for motor

Scientific definitions for motor