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
- A brief, unspecified amount of time.
- Wait up a moment, while I lock the front door.
- The smallest portion of time; an instant.
- 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.
- 1597, Wm. Shakespeare, Richard III, 3,7,67:
- The turning effect of a force applied to a rotational system at a distance from the axis of rotation. Also called moment of force.
- A definite period of time, specifically one-tenth of a point, or one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an hour.
- A petit mal, a spell.
- A fit, a short-duration tantrum, a hissy.