Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being motile; capability of moving; capability of automatic or spontaneous motion: the opposite of stability.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Physiol.) Capability of motion; contractility.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The state of being motile
  • noun countable The degree to which something is motile

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a change of position that does not entail a change of location
  • noun ability to move spontaneously and independently

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Sperm, as they age, they lose what's called their motility, they just don't move as quickly as they should.

    CNN Transcript Apr 30, 2002 2002

  • Forec. system by the sleeping state, but there is no doubt that the psychological character of sleep is essentially due to the change of energy in this very system, which also dominates the approach to motility, which is paralyzed during sleep.

    Dream Psychology Psychoanalysis for Beginners Sigmund Freud 1897

  • Spontaneous activity - also known as motility - and the shape of the spermatozoa are also important factors.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010

  • The discovery was the unanticipated result of a study the Cummings group conducted to test the hypothesis that the freedom with which different cancer cells move -- a concept called motility -- could be correlated with their aggressiveness: That is, the faster a given type of cancer cell can move through the body the more aggressive it is.

    European Tribune European Tribune 2010

  • It's an interesting trade off, as retaining the virus DNA helps the bacteria grow faster but reduces its motility, which is needed when seeking out new environments, Wood explains.

    EurekAlert! - Breaking News 2009

  • The seminar dealing with this 'motility' cuts short the discussion of the expropriation that belongs essentially to appropriation.

    enowning enowning 2009

  • The seminar dealing with this 'motility' cuts short the discussion of the expropriation that belongs essentially to appropriation.

    Archive 2009-01-01 enowning 2009

  • It seems to me that the heavily capitalized structure of film production and distribution would seem to make it a difficult medium for the kind of motility you ascribe to demotic.

    Site Four: Romantic Populism and Insurgent Civil Society. 2002

  • For the past 10 years, Keef has established herself as a leading expert on how contraction of this muscle (i.e., "motility") is controlled.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS Editors 2010

  • For the past 10 years, Keef has established herself as a leading expert on how contraction of this muscle (i.e., "motility") is controlled.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS Editors 2010

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