Definition of moment
1a : a minute portion or point of time : instant a moment of dreadful suspense— Graham Greene
b : a comparatively brief period of time
moments of solitude
2a : present time
at the moment she is at work on her fourth novel — Holiday
b : a time of excellence or conspicuousness
there's … some deliciously funny moments, but most of it is numbingly subtle— Jess Cagle
3 : importance in influence or effect
decisions of moment must be made by our government— L. H. Evans
4 obsolete : a cause or motive of action
5 : a stage in historical or logical development
a document of one moment in the history of thought and sensibility in the nineteenth century— T. S. Eliot
6a : tendency or measure of tendency to produce motion especially about a point or axis
b : the product of quantity (such as a force) and the distance to a particular axis or point
7a : the mean (see mean entry 4 sense 1b) of the nth powers of the deviations (see deviation sense b) of the observed values in a set of statistical data from a fixed value
b : the expected value of a power of the deviation (see deviation sense b) of a random variable from a fixed value
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Anagram puzzles meet word search.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
Do you know these earlier meanings of words?
Take the quizWords of Snow and Ice Quiz
A selection of words from the chillier parts of t...
Take the quizSpell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quizSCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!
Play the game
Share moment
Time Traveler for moment
The first known use of moment was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century