What does "movement" mean?

1. (physical motion) the act of moving your body or changing position. 2. (social or political group) a group of people who share the same ideas and work together to change something in society. 3. (part of a musical work) one of the main sections of a long piece of music, like a symphony. 4. (mechanical parts) the moving parts inside a machine, especially a clock or watch. 5. (aircraft takeoff or landing) one instance of a plane taking off or landing at an airport. 6. (emptying the bowels) a polite way to talk about going to the toilet to pass solid waste.

movement

US //ˈmuvmənt// UK //mˈuːvmənt// move·ment

1 physical motion (n.)
A2 Elementary

the act of moving your body or changing position.

the act or process of moving; a change in physical location or posture.

Example

She watched the slight movement of the curtains in the breeze.

Example

The security cameras are designed to detect even the slightest movement within the restricted perimeter after dark.
- stillness
- immobility
2 social or political group (n.)
B1 Intermediate

a group of people who share the same ideas and work together to change something in society.

a series of organised activities by people working together toward a shared political, social, or ideological goal.

Example

He joined the environmental movement to help protect the local rivers.

Example

The civil rights movement of the 1960s fundamentally reshaped the legal and social landscape of the United States.

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3 part of a musical work (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Music

one of the main sections of a long piece of music, like a symphony.

a self-contained section of a larger musical composition, such as a symphony or sonata.

Example

The orchestra played the second movement much slower than the first.

Example

The final movement of the symphony concludes with a triumphant brass fanfare that resolves the tension established in the opening bars.
4 mechanical parts (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Engineering

the moving parts inside a machine, especially a clock or watch.

the inner mechanism of a timepiece or similar device that produces and regulates motion.

Example

The watchmaker carefully cleaned the tiny gears of the watch movement.

Example

The antique clock features a complex mechanical movement that requires manual winding every twenty-four hours to maintain accuracy.
5 aircraft takeoff or landing (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Aviation

one instance of a plane taking off or landing at an airport.

a single operation of an aircraft taking off or landing at an airfield.

Example

The busy airport handles over a thousand aircraft movements every day.

Example

Air traffic controllers must coordinate hundreds of daily movements to ensure safe separation between arriving and departing flights.
- operation
- flight
6 emptying the bowels (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Formal Medicine

a polite way to talk about going to the toilet to pass solid waste.

an act of defecation; often used in medical contexts as a shortened form of 'bowel movement'.

Example

The doctor asked the patient if they had experienced a regular movement.

Example

Post-operative care includes monitoring the patient for their first bowel movement to ensure the digestive system is functioning correctly.
- defecation

Origin

From Middle English mevement, from Old French movement (modern French mouvement), from movoir + -ment; cf. also Medieval Latin movimentum, from Latin movere (“move”). Doublet of moment and momentum. In this sense, displaced native Old English styring, which led to Modern English stirring. Morphologically move + -ment.