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motor

A motor runs your car, whizzes the blender and gets your golf cart going: it's simply a machine that converts energy into motion.

Coming to us from a Latin word that means "to move," motor is certainly connected to the world of motion. Without the innovation of Ford motors, most of America wouldn't be able to get anywhere today. These days the motor is undergoing some serious revisions, as engineers look for a way to power things with less gasoline and more sunshine.

DEFINITIONS OF: motor

n machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; electric motor
a motor that converts electricity to mechanical work; engine
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work; stepper, stepping motor
a motor (especially an electric motor) that moves or rotates in small discrete steps; aircraft engine
the engine that powers and aircraft; automobile engine
the engine that propels an automobile; auxiliary engine, donkey engine
(nautical) a small engine (as one used on board ships to operate a windlass); generator
engine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic induction; heat engine
any engine that makes use of heat to do work; reaction engine, reaction-propulsion engine
a jet or rocket engine based on a form of aerodynamic propulsion in which the vehicle emits a high-speed stream; starter, starter motor, starting motor
an electric motor for starting an engine; synchronous motor
electric motor in which the speed of rotation is proportional to the frequency of the A.C. power; wiper motor
electric motor that moves the windshield wiper

Type of:: machine
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks

n a nonspecific agent that imparts motion

“happiness is the aim of all men and the motor of all action”

Type of:: agent
an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect

adj causing or able to cause motion

“motor energy”

Synonyms:: motive

: causative
producing an effect

adj conveying information to the muscles from the CNS

“motor nerves”

Synonyms:: centrifugal

: efferent, motorial
of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying information away from the CNS

v travel or be transported in a vehicle

“They motored to London for the theater”

Synonyms:: drive

: drive, take
proceed along in a vehicle

Type of:: go, locomote, move, travel
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

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