Meaning & use

momentum

noun·Academic

The force or drive that keeps a moving object or an ongoing process going, or the strength gained from progress.

See it in a sentence

The campaign gained momentum after the candidate's speech went viral online.

In physics, momentum equals an object's mass multiplied by its velocity.

A note on using this word

In everyday speech momentum describes building energy or progress, while in physics it is a precise, measurable quantity of moving mass.

Words with a similar meaning

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