Moment vs. Movement: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
A moment is a brief, specific point in time, while a movement is a change or development, often referring to physical motion or social/cultural shifts.
Key Differences
A moment refers to an instant in time, often fleeting and specific, such as a moment of realization. A movement implies a course of action or change, like a social movement striving for reform.
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Moments often have personal significance, capturing brief experiences or emotions. Movements typically involve collective action or changes impacting a larger group or society.
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A moment is static, representing a fixed point. In contrast, a movement suggests dynamism, encompassing physical motion or progress over time.
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The essence of a moment lies in its timing, emphasizing when something happens. Movement emphasizes the action, direction, or change, whether in physical motion, trends, or ideologies.
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Moments are usually small-scale and individual. Movements, however, often have broader impacts, influencing or involving larger groups, societies, or historical trends.
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Comparison Chart
Typical Context
Personal experiences, memories
Social, cultural, or physical changes
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Implication
Emphasizes a specific instance
Suggests ongoing development or motion
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Moment and Movement Definitions
Moment
A very brief period of time.
She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts.
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Movement
A group working together to advance their shared political, social, or artistic ideas.
The civil rights movement significantly changed society.
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Moment
A particular stage or point in a process.
At that moment, she decided to change her path.
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Movement
The rhythmic or structured progression in a piece of music.
The first movement of the symphony was particularly stirring.
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Moment
An opportunity or instance.
He waited for the right moment to express his feelings.
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Moment
A specific point in time, especially the present time
He is not here at the moment.
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Movement
A change in the location of troops, ships, or aircraft for tactical or strategic purposes.
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Moment
A point in time that is gratifying or noteworthy
Even working on a dictionary has its moments.
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Movement
A series of actions and events taking place over a period of time and working to foster a principle or policy
A movement toward world peace.
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Moment
An occasion affording an opportunity
Viewed the blunder as a teachable moment.
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Movement
An organized effort by supporters of a common goal
A leader of the labor movement.
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Moment
A particular period of importance, influence, or significance in a series of events or developments
A great moment in history.
Waiting for her big moment.
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Moment
Outstanding significance or value; importance
A discovery of great moment.
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Moment
A brief period of time that is characterized by a quality, such as excellence, suitability, or distinction
A lackluster performance that nevertheless had its moments.
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Movement
The suggestion or illusion of motion in a painting, sculpture, or design.
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Moment
The product of a quantity, such as force or mass, and its perpendicular distance from a reference point.
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Moment
(Statistics) The expected value of a positive integer power of a random variable. The first moment of a random variable is the mean of its probability distribution.
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Moment
A brief, unspecified amount of time.
Wait a moment, while I lock the front door.
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Movement
(Linguistics) In generative grammar, a transformation in which a constituent in one part of a syntactic structure is copied or displaced into a different location, creating a new structure.
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Movement
A mechanism, such as the works of a watch, that produces or transmits motion.
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Movement
Physical motion between points in space.
I saw a movement in that grass on the hill.
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Movement
(engineering) A system or mechanism for transmitting motion of a definite character, or for transforming motion, such as the wheelwork of a watch.
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Moment
A definite period of time, specifically one-tenth of a point, or one-fortieth or one-fiftieth of an hour.
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Movement
A trend in various fields or social categories, a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals
The labor movement has been struggling in America since the passage of the Taft-Hartley act in 1947.
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Movement
(music) A large division of a larger composition.
Beethoven's movements
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Moment
(math) An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an increment or decrement.
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Moment
(math) A quantitative measure of the shape of a set of points.
If the points represent mass, then the zeroth moment is the total mass, the first moment divided by the total mass is the center of mass, and the second moment is the rotational inertia.
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Movement
(aviation) An instance of an aircraft taking off or landing.
Albuquerque International Sunport serviced over 200,000 movements last year.
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Moment
(As in "X moment") An embarrassing event, supposed to be characteristic of some person, group, or situation.
Woman moment
Reddit moment
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Movement
(baseball) The deviation of a pitch from ballistic flight.
The movement on his cutter was devastating.
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Moment
A minute portion of time; a point of time; an instant; as, at that very moment.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
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Movement
(bridge) A pattern in which pairs change opponents and boards move from table to table in duplicate bridge.
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Moment
Impulsive power; force; momentum.
The moments or quantities of motion in bodies.
Touch, with lightest moment of impulse,His free will.
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Moment
Importance, as in influence or effect; consequence; weight or value; consideration.
Matters of great moment.
It is an abstruse speculation, but also of far less moment and consequence of us than the others.
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Moment
An essential element; a deciding point, fact, or consideration; an essential or influential circumstance.
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Movement
The act of moving in space; change of place or posture; motion; as, the movement of an army in marching or maneuvering; the movement of a wheel or a machine.
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Moment
An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an increment or decrement.
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Movement
Manner or style of moving; as, a slow, or quick, or sudden, movement.
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Moment
Tendency, or measure of tendency, to produce motion, esp. motion about a fixed point or axis.
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Movement
Transference, by any means, from one situation to another; a change of situation; progress toward a goal; advancement; as, after months of fruitless discussion there was finally some movement toward an agreement.
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Moment
An indefinitely short time;
Wait just a moment
It only takes a minute
In just a bit
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Moment
At this time;
The disappointments of the here and now
She is studying at the moment
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Movement
A system of mechanism for transmitting motion of a definite character, or for transforming motion; as, the wheelwork of a watch; as, a seventeen jewel movement.
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Moment
Having important effects or influence;
Decisions of great consequence are made by the president himself
Virtue is of more moment that security
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Movement
A more or less organized effort by many people to achieve some goal, especially a social or artistic goal; as, the women's liberation movement; the progressive movement in architecture.
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Moment
The moment of a couple is the product of its force and the distance between its opposing forces
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Movement
A change of position that does not entail a change of location;
The reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise
Movement is a sign of life
An impatient move of his hand
Gastrointestinal motility
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Moment
The n-th moment of a distribution is the expected value of the n-th power of the deviations from a fixed value
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Movement
A natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
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Moment
An exact point in time.
The moment the clock struck twelve, the party began.
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Movement
The act of changing location from one place to another;
Police controlled the motion of the crowd
The movement of people from the farms to the cities
His move put him directly in my path
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Moment
A significant time.
Winning the award was a defining moment in his career.
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Movement
A group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals;
He was a charter member of the movement
Politicians have to respect a mass movement
He led the national liberation front
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Movement
A major self-contained part of a symphony or sonata;
The second movement is slow and melodic
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Movement
A series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end;
He supported populist campaigns
They worked in the cause of world peace
The team was ready for a drive toward the pennant
The movement to end slavery
Contributed to the war effort
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Movement
An optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object;
The cinema relies on apparent motion
The succession of flashing lights gave an illusion of movement
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Movement
A general tendency to change (as of opinion);
Not openly liberal but that is the trend of the book
A broad movement of the electorate to the right
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Movement
The driving and regulating parts of a mechanism (as of a watch or clock);
It was an expensive watch with a diamond movement
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Movement
The act of changing the location of something;
The movement of cargo onto the vessel
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Movement
An act of changing physical location or position.
The dancer's movement was graceful and fluid.
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Movement
A change or development.
There's been a significant movement in public opinion.
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Movement
A shift or trend in art, literature, or culture.
The impressionist movement revolutionized painting.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Is a moment always significant?
It can be, especially if it marks a specific, meaningful event.
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Can a moment be extended?
Typically, it refers to a very brief period, so it's inherently short.
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Do movements require participation?
Typically, especially social or political movements.
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Is a moment always positive?
No, it can be neutral or negative, depending on the context.
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What is a movement?
A change or development, often in social or cultural contexts.
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Can moments be planned?
Some can, like a moment set for a special event, but many are spontaneous.
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Can an individual start a movement?
Yes, though it usually grows with more people joining in.
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Are movements always political or social?
They can be, but also refer to trends in art, culture, or physical motion.
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Is a moment the same as a minute?
No, a moment is more about a specific point, not a measured time.
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Can movements be stopped?
They can, either by achieving their goals or losing momentum.
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Do all movements have leaders?
Many do, but some are more collective or decentralized.
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Can a moment change a person?
Yes, especially if it's a profound or life-altering experience.
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How long does a movement last?
It varies, often extending over a longer period to signify change.
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Do moments affect future events?
They can, especially if they're significant turning points.
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How do you capture a moment?
Through memories, photos, or simply by being present.
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What's an example of a cultural movement?
The Renaissance was a major cultural and artistic movement.
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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