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# motor

«motor» in Mova's school dictionary: **A machine that turns energy (usually electricity or fuel)…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a motor, motors); adjective (motor); verb (motor, motors, motored, motoring — old-fashioned)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A machine that turns energy (usually electricity or fuel) into movement, like the motor in a fan, a toy car or a boat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#m1)

2) (UK, informal) A car. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#m2)

3) (adjective) To do with cars or vehicles: «motor racing». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#m3)

4) (adjective, science) To do with movement of the body: «motor skills». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science and technology lessons: an electric motor is used in circuits to make something spin. In everyday life: motorbikes, motorboats, motorways. In PE: «fine motor skills» (small movements like writing) and «gross motor skills» (big movements like running). Phrases: «electric motor», «motor skills», «motor racing», «motor vehicle».

### examples

- We added a small motor to make our model car move. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x1)
- The motor in the fan is broken. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x2)
- Racing drivers love motor racing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x3)
- Writing practice helps your fine motor skills. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x4)
- The boat's motor started with a roar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x5)
- An electric motor uses electricity to make things spin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x6)
- Uncle Pete washed his motor on Sunday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/#x7)

### note

Countable. Compounds: motorbike, motorway (UK), motorboat, motorist. People often use «motor» and «engine» the same way; in science, an electric «motor» turns electricity into movement, and an «engine» usually burns fuel.

### In the corpora

- [And he has ordered a large and very expensive motor-car.»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/32-willows-ch2-part4-the-wreck-and-the-new-craze/39/)
- [He has heard that a new, extra-powerful motor-car is arriving at Toad Hall this very morning.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/45-willows-ch6-part1-the-hour-of-toad/5/)
- [«The Rat sat on him, and the Mole got his motor-clothes off him bit by bit».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/45-willows-ch6-part1-the-hour-of-toad/31/)
- [I should like to be able to tell my friends that once I had driven a motor-car!»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/17/)
- [I am the Toad, the motor-car snatcher, the prison-breaker, the Toad who always escapes!»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/26/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «motor» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/motor/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.