Moment
WordNet

noun


(1)   Having important effects or influence
"Decisions of great consequence are made by the president himself"
"Virtue is of more moment that security"
(2)   The n-th moment of a distribution is the expected value of the n-th power of the deviations from a fixed value
(3)   A turning force produced by an object acting at a distance (or a measure of that force)
(4)   At this time
"The disappointments of the here and now"
"She is studying at the moment"
(5)   A particular point in time
"The moment he arrived the party began"
(6)   An indefinitely short time
"Wait just a moment"
"It only takes a minute"
"In just a bit"
WiktionaryText

Etymology


From moment, from momentum.

Noun



  1. A brief, unspecified amount of time.
    Wait up a moment, while I lock the front door.
  2. The smallest portion of time; an instant.
  3. Weight or importance.
    • 1597, Wm. Shakespeare, Richard III, 3,7,67:
      In deep designs, in matter of great moment, / No less importing than our general good.
    • 1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Adventure of the Second Stain’ (Norton 2005, p.1192)
      The document in question is of such immense importance that its publication might very easily – I might almost say probably – lead to European complications of the utmost moment.
  4. The turning effect of a force applied to a rotational system at a distance from the axis of rotation. Also called moment of force.
  5. A definite period of time, specifically one-tenth of a point, or one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an hour.
  6. A petit mal, a spell.
  7. A fit, a short-duration tantrum, a hissy.
 
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