An electric motor. FromMiddle English motour ( “ controller ,prime mover ;God ” ) , fromLatin mōtor ( “ mover ; that whichmoves something” ) , frommōtō ( “ to set in motion ” ) .
motor (plural motors
Amachine ordevice thatconverts otherenergy forms intomechanical energy, orimparts motion . ( now colloquial outside attributive use ) motor car , orautomobile , sometimes extended to other powered vehicles, such as goods vehicles.Nicemotor !
Motor insurance is expensive for youngsters.( attributive use )
1907 Robert W[illiam] Chambers , “His Own People”, inThe Younger Set , New York, N.Y.:D. Appleton & Company ,→OCLC page 6 :It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue;motor , brougham, and victoria swept by on the glittering current; pretty women glanced out from limousine and tonneau; young men of his own type, silk-hatted, frock-coated, the crooks of their walking sticks tucked up under their left arms, passed on the Park side.
1918 Edith Wharton , chapter I, inThe Marne , New York, N.Y.:D[aniel] Appleton and Company ,→OCLC page 1 :Every since the age of six Troy Belknap of New York had embarked for Europe every June on the fastest steamer of one of the most expensive lines. With his family he had descended at the dock from a large noiselessmotor , had kissed his father good-bye, turned back to shake hands with the chauffeur (a particular friend), and trotted up the gang-plank behind his mother's maid, [...]
1929 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ,When the World Screamed [1] 'However, you go and try your luck and see how you like it.' With that he flung himself into hismotor and was off.
1936 F.J. Thwaites , chapter XXII, inThe Redemption 1940 , page214 :The screeching of brakes, the monotonous blare ofmotor horns, the clip-clip of shoes on slippery pavements, the rustling of wet mackintoshes were all part of the great metropolis.
1944 Railway Magazine , page338 :Goodsmotors for which "A" licences are held are free to operate anywhere, to pick up the most remunerative traffic, and the points between which the best back loads are available.
( figuratively ) inspiration ; a driving force.Any protein capable of converting chemical energy into mechanical work. ( Christianity , archaic , poetic ) prime mover of the universe;God .( prison slang ) pruno , or "prison wine".Synonym: kicker machine that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy
Afrikaans:motor (af) ,enjin (af) Albanian:motor (sq) m Arabic:مُحَرِّك (ar) m ( muḥarrik ) ,مُوتُور (ar) m ( mutūr ) Armenian:շարժիչ (hy) ( šaržičʻ ) Azerbaijani:motor (az) ,mühərrik (az) Belarusian:рухаві́к m ( ruxavík ) ,мато́р m ( matór ) Bengali:মোটর (bn) ( mōṭor ) ,ইঞ্জিন (bn) ( injin ) Bulgarian:мото́р (bg) m ( motór ) ,дви́гател (bg) m ( dvígatel ) Burmese:အင်ဂျင် (my) ( anggyang ) Catalan:motor (ca) m Chinese:Cantonese:馬達 / 马达 ( maa5 daat6 ) ,摩托 ( mo1 tok3 ) ,引擎 ( jan5 king4 ) ,發動機 / 发动机 ( faat3 dung6 gei1 ) ,電動機 / 电动机 ( din6 dung6 gei1 ) ( electric ) Mandarin:馬達 / 马达 (zh) ( mǎdá ) ,摩托 (zh) ( mótuō ) ,引擎 (zh) ( yǐnqíng ) ,發動機 / 发动机 (zh) ( fādòngjī ) ,電動機 / 电动机 (zh) ( diàndòngjī ) ( electric ) Cornish:jynn (kw) m Czech:motor (cs) m Danish:motor (da) c Dutch:motor (nl) m Esperanto:motoro Estonian:mootor Faroese:motorur m Finnish:moottori (fi) French:moteur (fr) m Georgian:ძრავა ( ʒrava ) ,მოტორი ( moṭori ) German:Motor (de) m Triebwerk (de) n Antrieb (de) m Greek:μηχανή (el) f ( michaní ) ,κινητήρας (el) m ( kinitíras ) Greenlandic:motoori Hebrew:מָנוֹעַ (he) m ( manóa ) Hindi:मोटर (hi) f ( moṭar ) ,इंजन (hi) m ( iñjan ) Hungarian:motor (hu) Hunsrik:Motoer m Icelandic:mótor (is) Ido:motoro (io) Indonesian:motor (id) ,mesin (id) ,enjin (id) Interlingua:motor Irish:mótar (ga) m Italian:motore (it) m Japanese:モーター (ja) ( mōtā ) ,エンジン (ja) ( enjin ) ,機関 (ja) ( きかん, kikan ) ,機械 (ja) ( きかい, kikai ) ,発動機 (ja) ( はつどうき, hatsudōki ) ,原動機 (ja) ( げんどうき, kendōki ) ,エンジン (ja) ( enjin ) Kazakh:мотор (kk) ( motor ) ,қозғалтқыш ( qozğaltqyş ) Khmer:ម៉ូតូ (km) ( moutou ) ,ម៉ាស៊ីន (km) ( maasɨn ) Korean:모터 (ko) ( moteo ) ,기관(機關) (ko) ( gigwan ) ,엔진 (ko) ( enjin ) Kurdish:Northern Kurdish:motor (ku) ,makîne (ku) Kyrgyz:мотор (ky) ( motor ) ,кыймылдаткыч ( kıymıldatkıc ) Lao:ຍົນ (lo) ( nyon ) ,ມໍເຕີ ( mǭ tœ̄ ) Latvian:dzinējs (lv) m motors m Lithuanian:variklis m motoras m Lü:ᦝᦱᧉᦎᦳᧂᧈᦋᦲᧈ ( faa²ṫung¹tsii¹ ) Macedonian:мотор (mk) m ( motor ) Malay:motor (ms) ,enjin (ms) ,enjin (ms) Maltese:mutur m (pleaseverify ) magna f Manx:please add this translation if you can Maori:pūkaha initia iniana mīhini (mi) Mirandese:motor m Mongolian:Cyrillic:хөдөлгүүр (mn) ( xödölgüür ) ,мотор (mn) ( motor ) Navajo:atsiitsʼiin Nepali:मोटर (ne) ( moṭar ) Norman:engîn m ( Jersey ) Northern Sami:mohtor Norwegian:Bokmål:motor (no) m Nynorsk:motor m Pashto:انجن (ps) m ( enjǝn ) ,ماشين m ( māšin ) Persian:Dari:موتَر ( mōtar ) Iranian Persian:موتور (fa) ( motor ) ,مُحَرِّک ( moharrek ) Plautdietsch:Inzhen m Polish:silnik (pl) m Portuguese:motor (pt) m Romanian:motor (ro) n Russian:мото́р (ru) m ( motór ) ,дви́гатель (ru) m ( dvígatelʹ ) Scottish Gaelic:motar m Serbo-Croatian:Cyrillic:мо̀то̄р m Roman:mòtōr (sh) m Slovak:motor m Slovene:motor (sl) m Spanish:motor (es) m Swedish:motor (sv) c Tajik:муҳаррик ( muharrik ) ,мотор ( motor ) Tatar:йөрткеч (tt) ( yörtkeç ) ,мотор ( motor ) Telugu:యంత్రము (te) ( yantramu ) Thai:มอเตอร์ (th) ( mɔɔ-dtə̂ə ) ,เครื่องยนต์ (th) ( krʉ̂ʉang-yon ) Tibetan:ཤེད་འཕྲུལ ( shed 'phrul ) Turkish:motor (tr) Turkmen:motor dwigatel Ukrainian:мото́р (uk) m ( motór ) ,двигу́н (uk) m ( dvyhún ) Urdu:موٹَر f ( moṭar ) ,اِنْجَن m ( injan ) Uyghur:ماتور ( mator ) ,موتور ( motor ) Uzbek:motor (uz) ,muharrik dvigatel (uz) Vietnamese:động cơ (vi) (動機 mô-tơ (vi) Welsh:modur (cy) m White Hmong:please add this translation if you can Yiddish:מאָטאָר (yi) m ( motor ) Zhuang:fazdunggih (za)
figuratively: source of power; driving force
protein capable of converting chemical energy into mechanical work
Christianity: controller or prime mover of the universe
—see also God motor (notcomparable )
( biology ) ability to move.She has excellentmotor skills.
( nautical ) internal combustion engine ( as opposed to a steam engine or turbine ) .1915 The American Marine Engineer :Amotor yacht for its size has about 30 per cent more accommodations than a steamer of the same size.
biology: relating to ability to move
nautical: propelled by an internal combustion engine
motor (third-person singular simple present motors present participle motoring simple past and past participle motored
( dated ) drive .Synonym: moto On Saturday wemotored down to Plymouth.
1944 Railway Magazine , pages336–337 :The practice used to be for such consignments to be loaded as tranships to the large centre, but this involved rather slow transits, and to a considerable extent these consignments are nowmotored to the large centre, and in the average case the transit is improved by a day.
1946 April 22,Bobby Troup , “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 ”, inNew Juke Box Hits Chuck Berry , published March 1961, side 2, track 2:Well, if you ever plan tomotor west / Jack, take my way, it's the highway that's the best / Get your kicks on Route 66
( transitive , aviation ) jet engine orturboprop using the engine'sstarter , without introducingfuel into the engine.During startup, the engine should bemotored for 20 to 30 seconds to allow the shafts to straighten out, as they may have become bowed under their own weight while the airplane was sitting on the ground.
( informal , figurative ) progress at a brisk pace.Sales were slow at first, but now things are reallymotoring .
2023 November 15, Ian Prosser talks to Stefanie Foster, “A healthy person is a more productive person”, inRAIL , number996 , page34 :More recently, ORR has been developing its knowledge and skills in cyber and digital security. Prosser says this is really "motoring ".
( slang ) leave .I gottamotor .
to make a journey by motor vehicle
—see also drive informal: to move at a brisk pace
Borrowed fromEnglish motor motor car Latin mōtor [ 1]
motor (plural motors diminutive motortjie
car automobile Synonym: kar engine motor ^ G.J. van Wyk,Etimologiewoordeboek van Afrikaans , 2003, Stellenbosch. Either fromEnglish motor German Motor
motor m plural motorë definite motori definite plural motorët
motor engine ( colloquial ) motorcycle Synonym: motoçikletë ( figurative ) driving force motor m plural motores
engine motor ( mechanical device ) Borrowed fromLatin mōtōrem
motor (feminine motora masculine plural motors feminine plural motores motor (feminine motriu masculine plural motors feminine plural motrius
motor motor m plural motors
motor “motor ”, inDiccionari de la llengua catalana Dictionary of the Catalan Language Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan:Institut d'Estudis Catalans ], April 2007 “motor ”, inGran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana ,Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana ,2025 “motor” inDiccionari normatiu valencià ,Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua .“motor” inDiccionari català-valencià-balear , Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.IPA (key ) : /moˈtoɾ/ [moˈt̪oɾ̪] Hyphenation:mo‧tor Borrowed fromSpanish motor
motór
motor engine motór
clipping ofmotorsiklo motor
engine ,motor motor m inan
engine ,motor Declension ofmotor (hard masculine inanimate )
motor c singular definite motoren plural indefinite motorer
motor engine Borrowed fromEnglish motor Latin motor motor was originally short formotorrijwiel motorfiets
motor m plural motoren or motors diminutive motortje n
engine (mechanical device)motorbike Synonyms: motorfiets motorrijwiel FromEnglish motor German Motor Latin mōtor mōtō ( “ to set in motion ” ) .[ 1]
IPA (key ) : [ˈmotor] Hyphenation:mo‧tor Rhymes:-or motor (plural motorok
engine ,motor ( a machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion; the part of a car or other vehicle which provides the force for motion ) ( figurative ) powerhouse ( any source of power, energy or strength ) motorbike ,motorcycle ( an open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three) wheels ) Synonyms: motorbicikli motorkerékpár motor in Géza Bárczi ,László Országh ,et al. , editors,A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language Fifth ed., 1992:→ISBN . Borrowed fromDutch motor English motor Latin motor motorbike ” or "motorcycle ",motor was originally short formotorrijwiel motorfiets
motor (plural motor -motor
engine Synonyms: enjin mesin ( informal ) motorcycle Synonyms: honda sepeda motor ( figuratively ) important person inorganization motor (plural motores
motor Frommoveō ( “ to move ” ) +-tor ( “ -er ” ) .
mōtor m genitive mōtōris third declension
mover ; that whichmoves somethingThird-declension noun.
mōtor
first-person singular present passive indicative ofmōtō “motor Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879 ),A Latin Dictionary “motor ”, inGaffiot, Félix (1934 ),Dictionnaire illustré latin-français , Hachette. motor m definite singular motoren indefinite plural motorer definite plural motorene
engine ,motor motor m definite singular motoren indefinite plural motorar definite plural motorane
engine ,motor Learned borrowing fromLatin mōtor
motor m inan diminutive motorek
( colloquial ) motorcycle Synonyms: ( archaic ) autocykl motocykl engine Synonym: silnik motor inWielki słownik języka polskiego , Instytut Języka Polskiego PANmotor in Polish dictionaries at PWNBorrowed fromFrench moteur Latin mōtōrem
Rhymes:-oʁ -oɾ Hyphenation:mo‧tor motor (feminine motora masculine plural motores feminine plural motoras
motive motor m plural motores
motor engine Borrowed fromFrench moteur
IPA (key ) : /moˈtor/ Rhymes:-or Hyphenation:mo‧tor motor n plural motoare
engine ( colloquial ) motorcycle FromLatin motor
mòtōr m inan Cyrillic spelling мо̀то̄р
engine ,motor ( colloquial ) motorcycle mọ̑tor m inan
engine FromLatin motor
IPA (key ) : /moˈtoɾ/ [moˈt̪oɾ] Rhymes:-oɾ Syllabification:mo‧tor motor (feminine motora masculine plural motores feminine plural motoras
moving 1915 Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena , page14 :motor m plural motores
motor ( mechanical device ) ( mechanics ) engine ( figuratively ) driving force ,driver ,mover ( figuratively ) powerhouse ( computing ) backend ,back end motor c
engine ,motor Borrowed fromSpanish motor
motór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜓᜆᜓᜇ᜔
motor engine Synonym: makina motór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜓᜆᜓᜇ᜔
clipping ofmotorsiklo “motor ”, inPambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph , Manila,2018 “motor ”, inPinoy Dictionary ,2010–2025 FromFrench moteur m Latin mōtor m ( “ mover ” ) .
IPA (key ) : /moˈtoɾ/ Hyphenation:mo‧tor motor (definite accusative motoru plural motorlar
engine ( mechanical device ) motorboat Synonym: motorbot ( colloquial ) motorcycle CompareItalian motore
motor m plural motori motor m plural moturi
motor ,engine Possibly a shortening ofDutch motorboot ( “ motorboat ” ) .
motor
motorboat Clemens Voorhoeve (1982 ),The Makian languages and their neighbours [2] 
