n.
- A brief, indefinite interval of time.
- A specific point in time, especially the present time: He is not here at the moment.
- A particular period of importance, influence, or significance in a series of events or developments: a great moment in history; waiting for her big moment.
- Outstanding significance or value; importance: a discovery of great moment.
- A brief period of time that is characterized by a quality, such as excellence, suitability, or distinction: a lackluster performance that nevertheless had its moments.
- Philosophy.
- An essential or constituent element, as of a complex idea.
- A phase or an aspect of a logically developing process.
- (Abbr. M) Physics.
- The product of a quantity and its perpendicular distance from a reference point.
- The tendency to cause rotation about a point or an axis.
- Statistics. The expected value of a positive integral power of a random variable. The first moment is the mean of the distribution.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōmentum, from *movimentum. See momentum.]
SYNONYMS moment, instant, minute, second, jiffy, flash. These nouns denote a brief interval of time. A moment is an indeterminately short but significant period: I'll be with you in a moment. Instant is a period of time almost too brief to detect; it implies haste: He hesitated for just an instant. Minute is often interchangable with moment and second with instant: The alarm will ring any minute. I'll be back in a second. Jiffy and flash usually combine with in a; in a jiffy means in a short space of time, while in a flash suggests the almost imperceptible duration of a flash of light: "He was on his stool in a jiffy, driving away with his pen" (Charles Dickens). She finished the job in a flash. See also synonyms at importance.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
