| English Dictionary |
MOTIVE POWER
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| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does motive power mean?
• MOTIVE POWER (noun)
The noun MOTIVE POWER has 1 sense:
1. the power or ability to move
Familiarity information: MOTIVE POWER used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The power or ability to move
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
locomotion; motive power; motivity
Hypernyms ("motive power" is a kind of...):
mobility (the quality of moving freely)
Context examples
A dozen of the prisoners had hatched it before they came aboard, Prendergast was the leader, and his money was the motive power.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"A watched kettle never boils." (English proverb)
"The one who does not make you happy when he arrives makes you happy when he leaves" (Breton proverb)
"A servant who has two masters, lies to one of them." (Arabic proverb)
"A disaster never comes alone." (Croatian proverb)
"The one who does not make you happy when he arrives makes you happy when he leaves" (Breton proverb)
"A servant who has two masters, lies to one of them." (Arabic proverb)
"A disaster never comes alone." (Croatian proverb)