the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
the act of motivating; providing incentive
the condition of being motivated; "his motivation was at a high level"
a mode of action; "if you persist in that course you will surely fail"; "once a nation is embarked on a course of action it becomes extremely difficult for any retraction to take place"
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings; "he took a course in basket weaving"; "flirting is not unknown in college classes"
facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport; "the course had only nine holes"; "the course was less than a mile"
(construction) a layer of masonry; "a course of bricks"
part of a meal served at one time; "she prepared a three course meal"
a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the government took a firm course"; "historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available"
general line of orientation; "the river takes a southern course"; "the northeastern trend of the coast"
hunt with hounds; "He often courses hares"
move swiftly through or over; "ships coursing the Atlantic"
a hand tool with a flat face used for smoothing and finishing the surface of plaster or cement or stucco
an elaborate display mounted on a platform carried by a truck (or pulled by a truck) in a procession or parade
the number of shares outstanding and available for trading by the public
the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment
convert from a fixed point notation to a floating point notation; "float data"
allow (currencies) to fluctuate; "The government floated the ruble for a few months"
make the surface of level or smooth; "float the plaster"
put into the water; "float a ship"
move lightly, as if suspended; "The dancer floated across the stage"
set afloat; "He floated the logs down the river"; "The boy floated his toy boat on the pond"
be in motion due to some air or water current; "The leaves were blowing in the wind"; "the boat drifted on the lake"; "The sailboat was adrift on the open sea"; "the shipwrecked boat drifted away from the shore"
be afloat; stay on a liquid surface; not sink
circulate or discuss tentatively; test the waters with; "The Republicans are floating the idea of a tax reform"
memory device consisting of a long thin plastic strip coated with iron oxide; used to record audio or video signals or to store computer information; "he took along a dozen tapes to record the interview"
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"
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"
a formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote; "he made a motion to adjourn"; "she called for the question"
a state of change; "they were in a state of steady motion"
the act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling)
a flight maneuver; aircraft rotates about its longitudinal axis without changing direction or losing altitude
walking with a swaying gait
anything rolled up in cylindrical form
photographic film rolled up inside a container to protect it from light
a list of names; "his name was struck off the rolls"
execute a roll, in tumbling; "The gymnasts rolled and jumped"
show certain properties when being rolled; "The carpet rolls unevenly"; "dried-out tobacco rolls badly"
take the shape of a roll or cylinder; "the carpet rolled out"; "Yarn rolls well"
shape by rolling; "roll a cigarette"
pronounce with a roll, of the phoneme /r/; "She rolls her r's"
begin operating or running; "The cameras were rolling"; "The presses are already rolling"
move by turning over or rotating; "The child rolled down the hill"; "turn over on your left side"
cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis; "She rolled the ball"; "They rolled their eyes at his words"
move, rock, or sway from side to side; "The ship rolled on the heavy seas"
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"
move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion; "The curtains undulated"; "the waves rolled towards the beach"
emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound; "The thunder rolled"; "rolling drums"
occur in soft rounded shapes; "The hills rolled past"