locomotion

lo·co·mo·tion

noun \ˌlō-kə-ˈmō-shən\

Definition of LOCOMOTION

1

: an act or the power of moving from place to place

2

: travel <interest in free locomotion and choice of occupation — Zechariah Chafee Jr.>

Examples of LOCOMOTION

1. Walking is one form of locomotion.

Origin of LOCOMOTION

Latin locus + English motion

First Known Use: 1646

Rhymes with LOCOMOTION

Arctic Ocean, Nova Scotian, set in motion, Southern Ocean

lo·co·mo·tion

noun \ˌlō-kə-ˈmō-shən\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of LOCOMOTION

: an act or the power of moving from place to place : progressive movement (as of an animal body)

locomotion

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of various animal movements that result in progression from one place to another. Locomotion is classified as either appendicular (accomplished by special appendages) or axial (achieved by changing the body shape). Aquatic protozoans move by ciliary or flagellar appendages or by pseudopods, footlike appendages. Other forms of aquatic locomotion include walking on legs (some arthropods), crawling (by contracting the body muscles, anchoring to the substrate, and extending), and swimming by either hydraulic propulsion (e.g., jellyfish) or undulation (fishes). Terrestrial arthropods and vertebrates move by means of jointed appendages, the legs. Snakes and other limbless vertebrates crawl by means of muscular thrusts against the substrate. Flight is achieved by the forward thrust of wings.