MOTOR | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
/ Sign up
English (US)

Meaning of motor in English

motor
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈmoʊ.t̬ɚ/ uk
/ˈməʊ.tər/

motor noun [C] (DEVICE)

Add to word list Add to word list
B2
a device that changes electricity or fuel into movement and makes a machine work:
The pump is powered by a small electric motor.
Our washing machine needs a new motor.
mainly US A car stood by the curb, its motor (= engine) running.
Compare
engine
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Machines - Engines & motors

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

motor noun [C] (CAR)

mainly UK old-fashioned
a car:
Do you know anyone who's looking for a second-hand motor?
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Cars
See more results »
motor
adjective [ before noun ]
us
/ˈmoʊ.t̬ɚ/ uk
/ˈməʊ.tər/

motor adjective [before noun] (CAR)

mainly UK
connected with cars or other vehicles that have engines and use roads:
This has been a difficult year for the motor industry/trade.
motor insurance
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Cars
See more results »

motor adjective [before noun] (MUSCLES)

biology   specialized
relating to muscles that produce movement, or the nerves and parts of the brain that control these muscles:
He has poor motor control/functions.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Substances & structures in the body
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
motor
verb [ I ]
us
/ˈmoʊ.t̬ɚ/ uk
/ˈməʊ.tər/
informal
to move or increase very quickly:
Shares have motored ahead as profits have risen.
UK old-fashioned
to drive:
I was just motoring along, minding my own business, when suddenly I was stopped by the police.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Increasing and decreasing speed of motion
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of motor from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

motor | Intermediate English

motor
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈmoʊ·t̬ər/

motor noun [C] (ENGINE)

Add to word list Add to word list
an engine that makes a machine work or a vehicle move:
an electric/diesel motor.
motor
adjective [ not gradable ]
us
/ˈmoʊ·t̬ər/

motor adjective [not gradable] (BODY MOVEMENT)

relating to muscles that produce movement and the nerves and parts of the brain that control these muscles:
motor skills
(Definition of motor from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of motor

motor
Especially since they lack important motor skills at the beginning of their lives.
From CNN
The fuel cell channels the electricity to a drive motor, powering the car.
From CNET
The drinking water system is operated by an electric motor-driven pump.
From Gizmodo
There are other parts located inside the motor that can collect milk.
From CNN
That's a challenge for traditional motor sports fans who expect a race.
From NPR
Next, a plump woman with wire-wool hair and few teeth motors up.
From Foreign Policy
The motor designs made 150 mph top ends common.
From New York Post
There were only 29 motor vehicle thefts in that time.
From Dallas Morning News
Severe head trauma leads to irrepairable brain damage, amnesia, and loss of motor skills which can be devastating to a family.
From CNN
Then, upon irradiation at lower temperatures, the rotary motor changes orientation, and the oligomers self-assemble into a metal helicate.
From Phys.Org
The quest to develop a wireless micro-robot for biomedical applications requires a small-scale "motor" that can be wirelessly powered through biological media.
From Phys.Org
The battery supplying the faulty motor would then be used for the adjacent motor.
From CNN
Everywhere you turned, there was a booth that featured something with an electric motor and wheels.
From The Verge
The dishwasher pumps water through this, but there is no motor to rotate the arm.
From CNET
The circuit boards are then fitted into variable-speed drives, electric motors built to carry specific loads as efficiently as possible.
From The Atlantic
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with motor

motor

These are words often used in combination with motor.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

brushless motor
Energy is transferred in a brushless motor electronically, eliminating physical contact between stationary and moving parts.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
complex motor
By contrast, learning a complex motor skill induces plasticity in motor areas of the brain such as the motor and cerebellar cortices.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
diesel motor
The diesel motor multiple units are fast ending their lives; they have been running 10 years at least and most of them for 15 to 20 years.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with motor
What is the pronunciation of motor?
 

Translations of motor

in Chinese (Traditional)
裝置, 發動機，引擎, 電動機，馬達…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
装置, 发动机，引擎, 电动机，马达…
See more
in Spanish
motor, automóvil, coche…
See more
in Portuguese
motor, carro, automóvel…
See more
in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
मोटर, यंत्राला गती देणारे यंत्र…
See more
モーター…
See more
motor, arabalarla ilgili, arabalara ilişkin…
See more
moteur [masculine], (à) moteur, aller en auto…
See more
motor…
See more
motor, per auto reizen…
See more
மின்சாரம் அல்லது எரிபொருளை இயக்கமாக மாற்றி இயந்திரத்தை வேலை செய்ய வைக்கும் சாதனம்…
See more
मोटर / बिजली या ईंधन को गति में बदलने वाला और मशीन को चालित करने वाला उपकरण…
See more
મોટર, ચાલક યંત્ર, એક ઉપકરણ જે વીજળી અથવા બળતણને ગતિમાં રૂપાંતરિત કરે છે અને મશીન ચલાવે છે…
See more
motor, motor-, køre i bil…
See more
motor, bila, åka (köra) bil…
See more
motor, menaiki kenderaan bermotor…
See more
der Motor, Motor-…, fahren…
See more
motor [masculine], motor, kjøre bil…
See more
موٹر…
See more
автомобіль, їхати автомобілем…
See more
двигатель, мотор, автомобильный…
See more
మోటార్, విద్యుత్తు లేదా ఇంధనశక్తిని యాంత్రిక శక్తిగా మార్చి యంత్రం పని చేయడానికి ఉపయోగపడే పరికరం…
See more
مُحَرِّك…
See more
মোটর…
See more
motor(ový), jet autem…
See more
motor, naik mobil…
See more
เครื่องยนต์, เดินทางโดยรถยนต์…
See more
động cơ ô tô, đi ô tô…
See more
silnik, samochodowy, motoryzacyjny…
See more
모터, 발동기…
See more
motore, a motore, andare in automobile…
See more
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool
 

Browse

motiveless
motivic BETA
motley
motocross
motor
motor car
motor home
motor inn
motor insurance

Word of the Day

frostbite

UK
/ˈfrɒst.baɪt/
US
/ˈfrɑːst.baɪt/

injury to someone caused by severe cold, usually to their toes, fingers, ears, or nose, that causes permanent loss of tissue

About this

Blog

Keeping up appearances (Talking about how things seem)

New Words

reindeer noir

More new words
has been added to list
To top
Contents
EnglishIntermediateExamplesCollocationsTranslations
English (US)   Change
English (UK) English (US) Español Русский Português Deutsch Français Italiano 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Polski 한국어 Türkçe 日本語 Tiếng Việt Nederlands Svenska Dansk Norsk हिंदी বাঙ্গালি मराठी ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు Українська
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended
  • Definitions
    Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English
    English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus
    Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English
    Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation
    British and American pronunciations with audio
    English Pronunciation
  • Translation
    Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
    Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries
    English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus
    Word Lists
Contents
My word lists

To add motor to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in
My word lists

Add motor to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to your word lists
Tell us about this example sentence: