motive power

motive power

English

Noun

motive power (usually uncountable, plural motive powers)

1. (sometimes figurative) The power that enables something to move.

   Using electricity as motive power for railroads will do away with fuel trains, tenders, coal handling, water, and all that.

2. (rail transport, collectively) The locomotives that operate on a railway.

Synonyms

• locomotion
• motivity

Derived terms

• motive power depot
• MPD (motive power depot)

Translations

power that enables something to move

Chinese: Mandarin: 動力／动力 (zh) (dònglì), 原動力／原动力 (zh) (yuándònglì) Finnish: käyttövoima (fi) French: force motrice (fr) f Italian: forza motrice f Spanish: fuerza motriz f

References

• “motive power”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.