mobility

noun

mo·​bil·​i·​ty mō-ˈbi-lə-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being mobile or movable

… its efforts were supported by the cavalry which … compensated for the infantry's lack of mobility.

—R. M. Ogorkiewicz

… it becomes cost-effective and socially advantageous to provide urban mobility by means of metros: urban rail mass transit systems on exclusive rights-of-way.

—Michael A Niedzielski et al.

: ability or capacity to move

… the physical challenges of vision loss, hearing loss, and reduced mobility.

—Vicki Bloom and Benjamin B. Green-Field

When large doses of steroids restored mobility, they also created irritability, insatiable appetite, and facial hair …

—Whitney Scott

2

: the ability to change one's social or socioeconomic position in a community and especially to improve it

A large body of academic research shows that inequality and lack of social mobility hurt not just those at the bottom; they hurt everyone.

—Rana Foroohar

The mythology of the American Dream has made it difficult to start a serious conversation about how to create more opportunity in our society, since many of us still believe that our mobility is the result of our elbow grease and nothing more.

—Rana Foroohar

see also upward mobility

Examples of mobility in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The InoKraft Heated Jacket transforms cold discomfort into all-day mobility and confidence. —New Atlas, 21 Nov. 2025

Crucially, Margaret Hamilton’s iconic Wicked Witch used her phallic broom to stalk her prey — marking her both deviant and masculine, challenging the wizard through her independence and mobility. —Time, 21 Nov. 2025

Spacesuit stowage — Flight engineer Zena Cardman photo-documented and prepared for packing components from the station's extravehicular mobility units (EMUs, or spacesuits) that are slated to return to Earth on Russia's Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft. —Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025

And the next generation will not only be maintaining the legacy of Enterprise, Alamo, National Enterprise mobility, but also the legacy of compounding wealth outside the business. —Robert Frank, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mobility

• micro-mobility
• mobility scooter
• upward mobility

Rhymes for mobility

• ability
• agility
• civility
• debility
• docility
• ductility
• facility
• fertility
• fragility
• futility
• gentility
• hostility