moment

 
Pronunciation: /ˈməʊm(ə)nt/

noun

  • 1a very brief period of time: she was silent for a moment before replying a few moments later he returned to the office
  • an exact point in time: she would always remember the moment they met
  • an appropriate time for doing something; an opportunity: I was waiting for the right moment to tell him
  • a particular stage in the development of something or in a course of events: one of the great moments in aviation history
  • 2 [mass noun] formal importance: the issues were of little moment to the electorate
  • 3 Physics a turning effect produced by a force acting at a distance on an object.
  • the magnitude of a turning effect produced by a force acting at a distance, expressed as the product of the force and the distance from its line of action to a given point.
  • 4 Statistics a quantity that expresses the average or expected value of the first, second, third, or fourth power of the deviation of each component of a frequency distribution from a given value, typically mean or zero. The first moment is the mean, the second moment the variance, the third moment the skew, and the fourth moment the kurtosis.

Phrases

any moment (or at any moment)

very soon: my father will be here any moment now she looked as though at any moment she might burst into tears

at the (or this) moment

at the present time; now: he’s in bed at the moment

for the moment

for now: I decided that, for the moment, I’d keep quiet

have a moment

informal be currently popular or in fashion: the hitherto unfashionable Tyrol is currently having a moment Brady believes foreign language films definitely had a moment about 7 years ago

have one's (or its) moments

have short periods that are better or more impressive than others: the LP may not be the best album of the year, but it has its moments

in a moment

  • 1very soon: I’ll be back in a moment
  • 2instantly: the fugitive was captured in a moment

live for the moment

live or act without worrying about the future: Pisceans hate routine and like to live for the moment

the moment ——

as soon as ——: the heavens opened the moment we left the house

moment of truth

a time when a person or thing is tested, a decision has to be made, or a crisis has to be faced: the moment of truth for most German children comes at the end of Grade 4
[with allusion to the final sword thrust in a bullfight]

not a moment too soon

almost too late.

not for a (or one) moment

not at all; never: she had not for one moment doubted that everything would go her way

of the moment

currently popular, famous, or important: the buzzword of the moment

one moment (or just a moment)

a request for someone to wait for a short period of time: ‘One moment, please, while I check the bookings,’ the waiter said

share a moment

informal experience a joint sensation of heightened emotion: Alan and Bridget shared a moment yesterday after the memorial service

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin momentum (see momentum)