DictionaryAI

movement

noun
MOOV-muhnt/ˈmuːv.mənt/

Pluralmovements

13 meanings of movement

Practice

  1. 1
    motionnouncountable or uncountable
    Physical motion of something between points in space.

    Slow movement of the glacier reshaped the valley over centuries.

    The dancer practiced each movement until it looked effortless.

    UsageFor motion in general, no article: any movement, detect movement; for one action, a sudden movement.

    Similarmotion

    Oppositestasis, stillness

  2. 2
    shared causenouncountable
    A group of people united by a shared ideology who work together toward broad goals, or a wider trend within a field.

    The labor movement secured better working conditions for factory workers.

    A new movement in architecture rejected ornament in favor of clean lines.

    UsageUsually named by its cause or members, often with the: the labor movement, the civil rights movement.

    Similarcampaign, school, trend, crusade

    Note

    With the definite article it points to one recognized cause, as when the American labor movement is said to have struggled since the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. In the plural it can gather many campaigns at once, as Richard C. Bush does with Taiwan's social protest movements.

  3. 3
    changenouncountable or uncountable
    Any change in where a price, level, amount or situation stands, including steps that bring two sides closer to agreement.

    Traders watched for any movement in interest rates after the announcement.

    Negotiators reported no movement on the key issues, and the strike is set to continue.

    UsageUse movement in for a price or level and movement on for an issue: no movement on pay means stalled talks.

    Similarchange, shift, progress

  4. 4
    person's travelsnounplural
    The places a person visits and the things they do over a period of time, used in the plural and especially as tracked by others.

    Detectives pieced together the victim's movements in the hours before she disappeared.

    For months, his movements were closely watched by the security services.

    UsageUsually with a possessive: his movements, the victim's movements. Whereabouts says where someone is; movements traces where they went.

    Similaractivities

  5. 5
    music sectionnouncountable
    A large, self-contained section of a longer musical composition, such as a symphony or sonata.

    The final movement builds to a triumphant climax.

    Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements of contrasting character.

    UsageUsually named by order or tempo: the first movement, the slow movement, the final movement.

    Similarsection, part

    Note

    The concert-hall unit of structure: symphonies, sonatas and concertos are built from movements, and listeners speak of the first, the slow or the final movement. Each one usually has its own tempo, key and themes, and a full pause in performance often separates it from the next. That self-contained shape is what lets a single movement be played or discussed on its own.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  6. 6
    watch worksnouncountable
    A mechanism for transmitting or transforming motion of a definite character, such as the wheelwork of a watch.

    A skilled horologist can assemble a watch movement from hundreds of parts.

    The automatic movement winds itself as the wearer's wrist moves.

    Similarmechanism, works

    Note

    An engineer's and a watchmaker's word for the works themselves: the gears and wheelwork inside the case that turn stored energy into regular, controlled motion. Used this way it is concrete and countable, as in an automatic movement or a watch movement. It names the mechanism rather than the motion it produces, which is plain physical motion.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A watch's internal gears and wheelwork turn stored energy into regulated motion. hamiltonwatch.com
  7. 7
    noununcountable
    The sense of motion that a painting, sculpture, novel, or other artwork seems to convey.

    The artist created movement by repeating diagonal lines across the canvas.

    Critics praised the novel's restless movement from one scene to the next.

    Similardynamism, energy

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English mevement, from Old French movement (modern French mouvement), formed from movoir plus -ment; compare also Medieval Latin movimentum, from Latin movere ("move"). It is a doublet of moment and momentum, and can be analyzed as move + -ment.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts