moment

[moh-muh nt] /ˈmoʊ mənt/
noun
1.
an indefinitely short period of time; instant:
I'll be with you in a moment.
2.
the present time or any other particular time (usually preceded by the):
He is busy at the moment.
3.
a definite period or stage, as in a course of events; juncture:
at this moment in history.
4.
importance or consequence:
a decision of great moment.
5.
a particular time or period of success, excellence, fame, etc.:
His big moment came in the final game.
6.
Statistics. the mean or expected value of the product formed by multiplying together a set of one or more variates or variables each to a specified power.
7.
Philosophy.
  1. an aspect of a thing.
  2. Obsolete. an essential or constituent factor.
8.
Mechanics.
  1. a tendency to produce motion, especially about an axis.
  2. the product of a physical quantity and its directed distance from an axis:
    moment of area; moment of mass.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < Latin mōmentum motion, cause of motion, hence, influence, importance, essential factor, moment of time, equivalent to mō- (variant stem of movēre to move) + -mentum -ment
Synonyms
1. second, jiffy, trice, flash, twinkling. See minute1 . 4. significance, weight, gravity. See importance.
Examples from the web for moment
  • The subsequent arrival of other commercial media besides books didn't alter the legal importance of this moment.
  • But the populists haven't found a standard-bearer capable of taking advantage of this moment.
  • The practices of mapping have again become a key cultural moment.
  • We all know the power of waiting quietly for the right moment to pounce upon an opportunity.
  • Be patient and ready for that magical moment when it all comes together.
  • And this answer was perhaps his shining moment of the day.
  • If there was ever a moment of ill-preparedness, this was it.
  • There can be an awkward moment after the introducer suddenly stops and it's my turn to finally start speaking.
  • The government should plan defensively in case a moment for horse-trading arises.
  • Please submit images that accurately reflect the captured moment in time.
British Dictionary definitions for moment

moment

/ˈməʊmənt/
noun
1.
a short indefinite period of time: he'll be here in a moment
2.
a specific instant or point in time: at that moment the doorbell rang
3.
the moment, the present point of time: at the moment it's fine
4.
import, significance, or value: a man of moment
5.
(physics)
  1. a tendency to produce motion, esp rotation about a point or axis
  2. the product of a physical quantity, such as force or mass, and its distance from a fixed reference point See also moment of inertia
6.
(statistics) the mean of a specified power of the deviations of all the values of a variable in its frequency distribution. The power of the deviations indicates the order of the moment and the deviations may be from the origin (giving a moment about the origin) or from the mean (giving a moment about the mean)
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin mōmentum, from movēre to move
Word Origin and History for moment
n.

mid-14c., "very brief portion of time, instant," in moment of time, from Old French moment (12c.) "moment, minute; importance, weight, value" or directly from Latin momentum "movement, motion; moving power; alteration, change;" also "short time, instant" (also source of Spanish, Italian momento), contraction of *movimentum, from movere "to move" (see move (v.)). Some (but not OED) explain the sense evolution of the Latin word by notion of a particle so small it would just "move" the pointer of a scale, which led to the transferred sense of "minute time division." Sense of "importance, 'weight' " is attested in English from 1520s.

Phrase never a dull moment first recorded 1889 in Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat." Phrase moment of truth first recorded 1932 in Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon," from Spanish el momento de la verdad, the final sword-thrust in a bull-fight.

Slang definitions & phrases for moment

moment

Related Terms

big moment


Idioms and Phrases with moment

moment

In addition to the idiom beginning with
moment
also see: