Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Movement \Move"ment\, n. [F. mouvement. See Move, and cf.
Moment.]
1. The act of moving in space; change of place or posture;
motion; as, the movement of an army in marching or
maneuvering; the movement of a wheel or a machine.
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2. Manner or style of moving; as, a slow, or quick, or
sudden, movement.
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3. Transference, by any means, from one situation to another;
a change of situation; progress toward a goal;
advancement; as, after months of fruitless discussion
there was finally some movement toward an agreement.
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4. Motion of the mind or feelings; emotion.
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5. (Mus.)
(a) The rhythmical progression, pace, and tempo of a
piece. "Any change of time is a change of movement."
--Busby.
(b) One of the several strains or pieces, each complete in
itself, with its own time and rhythm, which make up a
larger work; as, the several movements of a suite or a
symphony.
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6. (Mech.) A system of mechanism for transmitting motion of a
definite character, or for transforming motion; as, the
wheelwork of a watch; as, a seventeen jewel movement.
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7. A more or less organized effort by many people to achieve
some goal, especially a social or artistic goal; as, the
women's liberation movement; the progressive movement in
architecture.
[PJC]
Febrile movement (Med.), an elevation of the body
temperature; a fever.
Movement cure. (Med.) See Kinesiatrics.
Movement of the bowels, an evacuation or stool; a passage
or discharge.
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Syn: Motion.
Usage: Movement, Motion. Motion expresses a general idea
of not being at rest; movement is oftener used to
express a definite, regulated motion, esp. a progress.
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movement
n 1: a change of position that does not entail a change of
location; "the reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed
his surprise"; "movement is a sign of life"; "an
impatient move of his hand"; "gastrointestinal motility"
[syn: motion, move, motility]
2: a natural event that involves a change in the position or
location of something [syn: motion]
3: the act of changing location from one place to another;
"police controlled the motion of the crowd"; "the movement
of people from the farms to the cities"; "his move put him
directly in my path" [syn: motion, move]
4: a group of people with a common ideology who try together to
achieve certain general goals; "he was a charter member of
the movement"; "politicians have to respect a mass
movement"; "he led the national liberation front" [syn: socialmovement, front]
5: a major self-contained part of a symphony or sonata; "the
second movement is slow and melodic"
6: a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward
a particular end; "he supported populist campaigns"; "they
worked in the cause of world peace"; "the team was ready
for a drive toward the pennant"; "the movement to end
slavery"; "contributed to the war effort" [syn: campaign,
cause, crusade, drive, effort]
7: an optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid
succession of still pictures of a moving object; "the
cinema relies on apparent motion"; "the succession of
flashing lights gave an illusion of movement" [syn: apparentmotion, motion, apparent movement]
8: a euphemism for defecation; "he had a bowel movement" [syn:
bowel movement, bm]
9: a general tendency to change (as of opinion); "not openly
liberal but that is the trend of the book"; "a broad
movement of the electorate to the right" [syn: drift, trend]
10: the driving and regulating parts of a mechanism (as of a
watch or clock); "it was an expensive watch with a
diamond movement"
11: the act of changing the location of something; "the movement
of cargo onto the vessel"
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