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motor

 [moh-ter]   Example Sentences Origin

mo·tor

   [moh-ter]
noun
1.
a comparatively small and powerful engine, especially an internal-combustion engine in an automobile, motorboat, or the like.
2.
any self-powered vehicle.
3.
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.
4.
Also called electric motor. Electricity. a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, as an induction motor.
5.
motors, stocks or bonds in automobile companies.
Gear Motors www.motionusa.com/Ac_Tech Low Cost Automation Technology Designed to Meet Your Needs
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adjective
6.
pertaining to or operated by a motor.
7.
of, for, by, or pertaining to motor vehicles: motor freight.
8.
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.
9.
causing or producing motion.
10.
Physiology. conveying an impulse that results or tends to result in motion, as a nerve.
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11.
Psychology, Physiology. Also, motoric. of, pertaining to, or involving muscular movement: a motor response; motor images.
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Motor is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to flee; abscond:
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
12.
to ride or travel in an automobile; drive: They motored up the coast.
verb (used with object)
13.
Chiefly British. to drive or transport by car: He motored his son to school.
Origin:
1580–90; < Latin mōtor mover, equivalent to mō- (variant stem of movēre to move) + -tor -tor

Related forms
mul·ti·mo·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Motor
Example Sentences
  • The new configuration, called rear-mid-engine, places the motor under the rear seat and over the rear axle.
  • Billions of gallons of motor oil are drained from engine crankcases each year, and only some of it is reused.
  • The motor vehicle is developing steadily as a national means of transportation of merchandise.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
motor (ˈməʊtə)
 
—n
1.  a.  the engine, esp an internal-combustion engine, of a vehicle
 b.  (as modifier): a motor scooter
2.  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
3.  any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion
4.  an indispensable part or player that moves a process or system along
5.  a.  chiefly (Brit) a car or other motor vehicle
 b.  as modifier: motor spares
 
—adj
6.  producing or causing motion
7.  physiol
 a.  of or relating to nerves or neurons that carry impulses that cause muscles to contract
 b.  of or relating to movement or to muscles that induce movement
 
—vb
8.  (intr) to travel by car
9.  (Brit) (tr) to transport by car
10.  informal (intr) to move fast; make good progress
11.  (tr) to motivate
 
[C16: from Latin mōtor a mover, from movēre to move]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

motor
mid-15c., from L. motor, lit. "mover," from movere "to move" (see move). From 15c. as "controller, prime mover" (in reference to God); sense of "agent or force that produces mechanical motion" is first recorded 1660s; that of "machine that supplies motive power" is from 1856.
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With explosive use 20c. as a comb. form of motor-car (1895). Motor-boat is from 1902. First record of slang motor-mouth "fast-talking person" is from 1971.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

motor mo·tor (mō'tər)
adj.

  1. Causing or producing motion.

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

  3. Involving or relating to movements of the muscles.

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

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
motor   (mō'tər)  Pronunciation Key 
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

motor definition


  1. in.
    to depart. : Well, let's motor, you guys. It's getting late.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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