1
a
: a minute portion or point of time : instant
a moment of dreadful suspense—
Graham Greene
Graham Greene
b
: a comparatively brief period of time
moments of solitude
2
a
: present time
at the moment she is at work on her fourth novel—Holiday
Holiday
b
: a time of excellence or conspicuousness
there's … some deliciously funny moments, but most of it is numbingly subtle—Jess Cagle
Jess Cagle3
: importance in influence or effect
decisions of moment must be made by our government—L. H. Evans
L. H. Evans4
obsolete
: a cause or motive of action
5
: a stage in historical or logical development
a document of one moment in the history of thought and sensibility in the nineteenth century—T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot6
a
: tendency or measure of tendency to produce motion especially about a point or axis
b
: the product of quantity (such as a force) and the distance to a particular axis or point
7
a
: the mean (see mean entry 4 sense 1b) of the nth powers of the deviations (see deviation sense b) of the observed values in a set of statistical data from a fixed value
b
: the expected value of a power of the deviation (see deviation sense b) of a random variable from a fixed value
Examples of moment in a Sentence
The sun was shining. Moments later, it began to rain.
It was a moment before she realized what had happened.
She stopped for a moment and peeked into the window.
It should only take a moment to fix the problem.
I'm very busy and I don't have a moment to spare.
One moment it was sunny; the next it was pouring rain.
The moment for us to act has arrived.
War seemed unavoidable at that moment in history.
She knew exactly the right moment to ask for a raise.
We had an exciting vacation. There was never a dull moment.
Recent Examples on the Web
But, over all, the menu felt haphazard and disappointing, with too many dull moments and little coherence from dish to dish.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
Clark’s draft moment, no matter how delayed, exemplifies the advantages of the age requirement.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
He estimation was off a bit, but 13 years later, that premonition came true as Tyler delivered an electric Saturday night set, a full circle moment for one of hip hop’s most dynamic artists.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
The Arizona Diamondbacks opened the 2024 season hoping for a return to the World Series and another championship moment at Chase Field.
—Greg Burton, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Then, Jordyn Woods’ date night makeup moment caught our eye.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 13 Apr. 2024
The iconic segment — which totaled over $7 million — was a one-time classic TV moment, but the internet has immortalized her excitement to store in its archive of reaction images.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
For over 400 episodes, Bob Ross taught public television audiences how to paint lovely landscapes, leaving behind a legacy of affable, meme-able moments, plus artworks that live on everywhere from your family garage to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2024
The second year receivers had some good moments, including as runners.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2024
Clark’s draft moment, no matter how delayed, exemplifies the advantages of the age requirement.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
He estimation was off a bit, but 13 years later, that premonition came true as Tyler delivered an electric Saturday night set, a full circle moment for one of hip hop’s most dynamic artists.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
The Arizona Diamondbacks opened the 2024 season hoping for a return to the World Series and another championship moment at Chase Field.
—Greg Burton, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
Then, Jordyn Woods’ date night makeup moment caught our eye.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 13 Apr. 2024
The iconic segment — which totaled over $7 million — was a one-time classic TV moment, but the internet has immortalized her excitement to store in its archive of reaction images.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
For over 400 episodes, Bob Ross taught public television audiences how to paint lovely landscapes, leaving behind a legacy of affable, meme-able moments, plus artworks that live on everywhere from your family garage to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
—Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2024
The second year receivers had some good moments, including as runners.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near moment
Cite this Entry
“Moment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moment. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
moment
noun
mo·ment
ˈmō-mənt 
1
: a brief portion of time : instant
2
a
: present time
at the moment she is working on a novel
b
: a time of importance or success
he has his moments
3
: importance, consequence
an event of great moment
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