momentum

C1 Topic:Physics

US /ˌmoʊˈmɛntəm/ UK /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/ See IPA manual

Freq #11302

Meanings

1

noun
The driving force that keeps an idea, process, or campaign moving forward.

The campaign gained momentum after the televised debate.
2

noun
The force or speed an object has because it is moving.

The car's momentum carried it off the road.
3

noun
In physics, the product of a body's mass and its velocity.

The momentum of the particles was calculated from their speed and mass.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the driving force that... impulse

Word family

Forms momentamomentums

Derived forms four-momentummomenergymomentumlesspseudomomentumquasimomentumsupermomentum

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

angular momentum
a physical quantity describing the rotational motion of an object about an axis

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Latin mōmentum. Doublet of moment and movement.

*m(y)ewh₁- Proto-Indo-European mōmentum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Physics Abstract Ideas

External links

# momentum

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌmoʊˈmɛntəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/
**Frequency rank:** 11302

## Meanings
1. The driving force that keeps an idea, process, or campaign moving forward.
2. The force or speed an object has because it is moving.
3. In physics, the product of a body's mass and its velocity.

## Examples
- The campaign gained momentum after the televised debate.
- The car's momentum carried it off the road.
- The momentum of the particles was calculated from their speed and mass.

## Derived Forms
- four-momentum
- momenergy
- momentumless
- pseudomomentum
- quasimomentum
- supermomentum

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *m(y)ewh₁-
- Root: mōmentum

## Etymology
From Latin mōmentum. Doublet of moment and movement.

## AI Etymology
Momentum comes from Latin mōmentum. Doublet of moment and movement. The historical chain includes *m(y)ewh₁- (Proto-Indo-European) and mōmentum (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as four-momentum, momenergy, momentumless, and pseudomomentum. In present use it covers the driving force that keeps an idea, process, or campaign moving forward, the force or speed an object has because it is moving, and in physics, the product of a body's mass and its velocity.

## Topics
- Physics
- Abstract Ideas

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