Standard Lemma guide

momentum

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌmoʊˈmɛntəm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˌməʉˈmentəm/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌmɐʉˈmentəm/
  • CMU ARPABET: M OW0 M EH1 N T AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Of a body in motion: the tendency of a body to maintain its inertial motion; the product of its mass and velocity, or the vector sum of the products of its masses and velocities.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Strength or force gained by motion or movement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events; a moment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The surmise of an accelerated price trend in the analysis (technical or fundamental) of an asset.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: business, finance

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the product of a body's mass and its velocity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the momentum of the particles was deduced from meteoritic velocities

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: physical property

Narrower terms: angular momentum

6

noun

Meaning 6

an impelling force or strength

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the car's momentum carried it off the road

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: impulse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: force, forcefulness, strength

History

Etymology

From Latin mōmentum. Doublet of moment and movement.

Across languages

Translations

105 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: زَخَم حَرَكَة (zaḵam ḥaraka) — product of mass and velocity
  • Bulgarian: импулс (impuls) — product of mass and velocity
  • Catalan: impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Catalan: embranzida — product of mass and velocity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 動量 /动量 (dòngliàng) — product of mass and velocity
  • Czech: hybnost — product of mass and velocity
  • Danish: impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Danish: bevægelsesmængde — product of mass and velocity
  • Dutch: impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Esperanto: movokvanto — product of mass and velocity
  • Finnish: liikemäärä — product of mass and velocity
  • French: quantité de mouvement — product of mass and velocity
  • Georgian: მოძრაობის რაოდენობა (moʒraobis raodenoba) — product of mass and velocity
  • Georgian: ინერცია (inercia) — product of mass and velocity
  • Georgian: მოძრაობის სიჩქარე (moʒraobis sičkare) — product of mass and velocity
  • Georgian: იმპულსი (imṗulsi) — product of mass and velocity
  • German: Impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Greek: ορμή (ormí) — product of mass and velocity
  • Hebrew: תֶּנַע (téna') — product of mass and velocity
  • Hindi: संवेग (samveg) — product of mass and velocity
  • Hungarian: lendület — product of mass and velocity
  • Hungarian: mozgásmennyiség — product of mass and velocity
  • Hungarian: impulzus — product of mass and velocity
  • Hungarian: mozgásállapot — product of mass and velocity
  • Icelandic: skriðþungi — product of mass and velocity
  • Ido: momento — product of mass and velocity
  • Indonesian: impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Indonesian: momentum — product of mass and velocity
  • Indonesian: pusa — product of mass and velocity
  • Irish: móiminteam — product of mass and velocity
  • Italian: quantità di moto — product of mass and velocity
  • Japanese: 運動量 (undōryō) — product of mass and velocity
  • Korean: 운동량 (undongnyang) — product of mass and velocity
  • Malayalam: ആക്കം (ākkaṁ) — product of mass and velocity
  • Malayalam: സംവേഗം (saṁvēgaṁ) — product of mass and velocity
  • Manx: çhionney — product of mass and velocity
  • Māori: torohaki — product of mass and velocity
  • Māori: ānga — product of mass and velocity
  • Mongolian: хөдөлгөөний тоо — product of mass and velocity
  • Mongolian: импульс (impulʹs) — product of mass and velocity
  • Persian: تکانه — product of mass and velocity
  • Polish: pęd — product of mass and velocity
  • Portuguese: momento — product of mass and velocity
  • Romanian: impuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Romanian: moment — product of mass and velocity
  • Russian: и́мпульс (ímpulʹs) — product of mass and velocity
  • Russian: коли́чество движе́ния (kolíčestvo dvižénija) — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: ѝмпулс — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: количѝна ги́ба̄ња — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: (Bosnia)количѝна кре́та̄ња — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: ìmpuls — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: količìna gíbānja — product of mass and velocity
  • Serbo-Croatian: količìna krétānja — product of mass and velocity
  • Slovak: hybnosť — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: cantidad de movimiento — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: ímpetu — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: impulso — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: moméntum — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: viada — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: aviada — product of mass and velocity
  • Spanish: muebda — product of mass and velocity
  • Swedish: rörelsemängd — product of mass and velocity
  • Tagalog: dagsa — product of mass and velocity
  • Thai: โมเมนตัม (moo-men-dtâm) — product of mass and velocity
  • Turkish: itki — product of mass and velocity
  • Turkish: momentum — product of mass and velocity
  • Vietnamese: động lượng — product of mass and velocity
  • Arabic: زَخَم (zaḵam) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Bulgarian: тласък (tlasǎk) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Bulgarian: движеща сила (dvižešta sila) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Catalan: impuls — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Catalan: embranzida — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Dutch: vaart — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Esperanto: elano — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Finnish: vauhti — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Finnish: voima — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • French: élan — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Georgian: იმპულსი (imṗulsi) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Georgian: ბიძგი (biʒgi) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Georgian: მამოძრავებელი ძალა (mamoʒravebeli ʒala) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • German: Schwung — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • German: Wucht — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • German: Schwungkraft — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • German: Moment — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Italian: slancio — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Italian: momento — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Italian: impulso — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Italian: impeto — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Māori: torohaki — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Polish: rozmach — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Portuguese: ímpeto — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Portuguese: impulso — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Romagnol: abrìv — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Romanian: avânt — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Russian: и́мпульс (ímpulʹs) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Russian: толчо́к (tolčók) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Russian: дви́жущая си́ла (dvížuščaja síla) — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Serbo-Croatian: impuls — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Serbo-Croatian: impetus — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Spanish: ímpetu — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Spanish: impulso — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Spanish: moméntum — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Spanish: viada — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Spanish: aviada — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
  • Vietnamese: đà — impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events
Real reading context

momentum in complete knowledge articles