MOMENTUM • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Momentum

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/moʊmˈɛntəm/ Listen

noun

Momentum n. (pl. L. momenta, F. momentums)

(Mech.) The quantity of motion in a moving body, being always proportioned to the quantity of matter multiplied by the velocity; impetus.

Essential element, or constituent element. "I shall state the several momenta of the distinction in separate propositions."

A property of an activity or course of events, viewed as analogous to forward motion or to physical momentum (def. 1), such that the activity is believed to be able to continue moving forward without further application of force or effort; often used to describe an increase in the acquisition of public support for a purpose; as, as, the petition drive gained momentum when it was mentioned in the newspapers.

See images of 'Momentum'

Etymology of 'Momentum'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Momentum" Quotes from Famous Books

... the good intention which prompted the act, and thinking only of the inconvenience which it occasions her, administers at once a sharp rebuke. The cause of the trouble was, simply, that the child was not old enough to understand the laws of momentum and of oscillation that affect the condition of a fluid when subjected to movements more or less irregular. She has had no theoretical instruction on the subject, and is too young to have acquired the necessary knowledge ...

— Gentle Measures in the Management and Training of the Young • Jacob Abbott

... ... m. Catapults," he mused. "You were right, girl of my dreams—armor and bows and arrows wouldn't help us much right now. They're going to throw rocks at us that'll have both mass and momentum. With those things they can cave in our side-armor, and might even dent our roof. When one of those projectiles hits, we want to know ...

— Spacehounds of IPC • Edward Elmer Smith

... had already begun to move as Holmes spoke. Glancing back, I saw a tall man pushing his way furiously through the crowd, and waving his hand as if he desired to have the train stopped. It was too late, however, for we were rapidly gathering momentum, and an instant later had shot clear ...

— Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

... open-eyed. The Yankee ventured a guess as to how hard she would hit on a mudbank. She promptly proved his guess a rank underestimate by doing so. We fell in a heap on the bottom. The dhow bore down on us with majestic momentum. The boat boys leaned frantically on their sweeps, and managed just to avoid us. The dhow also rammed the mudbank. A dozen reluctant boys hopped overboard and pushed us off. We pursued our merry way again. On either hand now appeared fish weirs of plaited coco fibre; which, being ...

— African Camp Fires • Stewart Edward White

... stronger grows the wish to live. And why not? When the circle is almost ended, and all the momentum of threescore-and-ten is gained, why not pass the line and enter into second childhood? What more beautiful truth in Nature's I Am, ...

— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 7, No. 44, June, 1861 • Various

More quotes...