moment

moment
    n 1: a particular point in time; "the moment he arrived the
         party began" [syn: {moment}, {minute}, {second}, {instant}]
    2: an indefinitely short time; "wait just a moment"; "in a mo";
       "it only takes a minute"; "in just a bit" [syn: {moment},
       {mo}, {minute}, {second}, {bit}]
    3: at this time; "the disappointments of the here and now"; "she
       is studying at the moment" [syn: {here and now}, {present
       moment}, {moment}]
    4: having important effects or influence; "decisions of great
       consequence are made by the president himself"; "virtue is of
       more moment than security"; "that result is of no
       consequence" [syn: {consequence}, {import}, {moment}] [ant:
       {inconsequence}]
    5: a turning force produced by an object acting at a distance
       (or a measure of that force)
    6: the n-th moment of a distribution is the expected value of
       the n-th power of the deviations from a fixed value
    

Moment \Mo"ment\, n. [F. moment, L. momentum, for movimentum
   movement, motion, moment, fr. movere to move. See {Move}, and
   cf. {Momentum}, {Movement}.]
   1. A minute portion of time; a point of time; an instant; as,
      at that very moment.
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            In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. --1 Cor.
                                                  xv. 52.
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   2. Impulsive power; force; momentum.
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            The moments or quantities of motion in bodies.
                                                  --Berkley.
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            Touch, with lightest moment of impulse,
            His free will.                        --Milton.
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   3. Importance, as in influence or effect; consequence; weight
      or value; consideration.
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            Matters of great moment.              --Shak.
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            It is an abstruse speculation, but also of far less
            moment and consequence of us than the others.
                                                  --Bentley.
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   4. An essential element; a deciding point, fact, or
      consideration; an essential or influential circumstance.
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   5. (Math.) An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an
      increment or decrement. [Obs.]
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   6. (Mech.) Tendency, or measure of tendency, to produce
      motion, esp. motion about a fixed point or axis.
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   {Moment of a couple} (Mech.), the product of either of its
      forces into the perpendicular distance between them.

   {Moment of a force}. (Mech.)
      (a) With respect to a point, the product of the intensity
          of the force into the perpendicular distance from the
          point to the line of direction of the force.
      (b) With respect to a line, the product of that component
          of the force which is perpendicular to the plane
          passing through the line and the point of application
          of the force, into the shortest distance between the
          line and this point.
      (c) With respect to a plane that is parallel to the force,
          the product of the force into the perpendicular
          distance of its point of application from the plane.
          

   {Moment of inertia}, of a rotating body, the sum of the mass
      of each particle of matter of the body into the square of
      its distance from the axis of rotation; -- called also
      {moment of rotation} and {moment of the mass}.

   {Statical moment}, the product of a force into its leverage;
      the same as {moment of a force} with respect to a point,
      line, etc.

   {Virtual moment}. See under {Virtual}.
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   Syn: Instant; twinkling; consequence; weight; force; value;
        consideration; signification; avail.
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203 Moby Thesaurus words for "moment":
      a breath, abundant year, academic year, accent, advantage, annum,
      ascendancy, authority, avail, bissextile year, bit, breath,
      breathing, calendar month, calendar year, century, charisma, charm,
      clout, common year, compulsion, concern, concernment, consequence,
      consequentiality, consideration, control, coup, crack, credit, day,
      decade, decennary, decennium, defective year, dominance,
      domination, drive, driving force, effect, eminence, emphasis,
      enchantment, esteem, excellence, fateful moment, favor,
      fiscal year, flash, force, fortnight, good feeling, gravity,
      greatness, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake,
      high order, high rank, hold, hour, impellent, impelling force,
      impetus, import, importance, impulse, impulsion, incentive,
      incidental power, incitement, influence, influentiality,
      influentialness, insinuation, instant, interest, interval,
      irresistible force, jiff, jiffy, juncture, kairos, leadership,
      leap year, leverage, little, little bit, little while, lunar month,
      lunar year, lunation, luster, lustrum, magnetism, magnitude,
      man-hour, mark, mastery, materiality, merit, microsecond,
      millennium, millisecond, minute, moment of truth, momentousness,
      momentum, month, moon, motive power, no time, note, pair of winks,
      paramountcy, period, personality, persuasion, pith, point, potency,
      power, precedence, predominance, preeminence, pregnant moment,
      preponderance, pressure, prestige, primacy, priority, profit,
      prominence, propulsion, psychological moment, purchase, quarter,
      quinquennium, rank, regular year, reign, repute, rule, say, season,
      sec, second, self-importance, semester, seniority, seriousness,
      session, shake, short spell, short time, sidereal year,
      significance, signification, small space, solar year, space, span,
      spell, split second, spurt, stage, stature, stress, stretch,
      stroke, suasion, subtle influence, suggestion, sun, superiority,
      supremacy, sway, term, thrust, tick, time, time lag, trice,
      trimester, twelvemonth, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch,
      two shakes, upper hand, use, value, week, weekday, weight,
      weightiness, while, whip hand, wink, worth, year