momentum

Plural: momenta, momentums

Noun

• The quantity of motion of a moving body; driving force.
• an impelling force or strength
  • "the car's momentum carried it off the road"
• the product of a body's mass and its velocity
  • "the momentum of the particles was deduced from meteoritic velocities"
• 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.
• Strength or force gained by motion or movement.
• The impetus, either of a body in motion, or of an idea or course of events; a moment.

Examples

• He built up momentum with several high-scoring words in a row.

Synonyms

impulse

Related Words

wind at one's back