a short indefinite period of time: he'll be here in a moment a specific instant or point in time: at that moment the doorbell rang - the moment ⇒
the present point of time: at the moment it's fine import, significance, or value: a man of moment a tendency to produce motion, esp rotation about a point or axis the product of a physical quantity, such as force or mass, and its distance from a fixed reference point
See also moment of inertia- have a moment ⇒
to experience a brief feeling of affinity to be currently fashionable or popular
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
mo•ment /ˈmoʊmənt/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- an indefinitely short period of time;
instant:[countable]Moments later, the thief vanished. - the particular time when something happens:[countable]The moment he began speaking, boos and catcalls filled the room.
- importance or consequence:[uncountable]a decision of great moment.
- at the moment, at the present moment:The boss is busy at the moment.
- have one's or its moments, to have a time or period of success, etc.:My job has its moments.
mo•ment
(mō′mənt),USA pronunciation n.
- an indefinitely short period of time;
instant:I'll be with you in a moment. - the present time or any other particular time (usually prec. by the):He is busy at the moment.
- a definite period or stage, as in a course of events;
juncture:at this moment in history. - importance or consequence:a decision of great moment.
- a particular time or period of success, excellence, fame, etc.:His big moment came in the final game.
- Statisticsthe mean or expected value of the product formed by multiplying together a set of one or more variates or variables each to a specified power.
- Philosophy
- an aspect of a thing.
- [Obs.]an essential or constituent factor.
- [Mech.]
- Mechanicsa tendency to produce motion, esp. about an axis.
- Mechanicsthe product of a physical quantity and its directed distance from an axis:moment of area; moment of mass.
- Latin mōmentum motion, cause of motion, hence, influence, importance, essential factor, moment of time, equivalent. to mō- (variant stem of movēre to move) + -mentum -ment
- Middle English 1300–50
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged second, jiffy, trice, flash, twinkling. See minute 1.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged significance, weight, gravity. See importance.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'for the moment' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):