Motion vs. Action — What's the Difference?

The action or process of moving or being moved.

The process of doing something to achieve an aim.

Governed by natural laws like Newton's laws of motion.

A deed done intentionally, often with a specific goal.

Captured and analyzed using various sensors and devices.

Involves steps or measures taken in various contexts.

A change in the position of an object over time.

Can be physical or mental.

Can be linear, rotational, or periodic.

Measured by effectiveness and results.

In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position over time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and time.

The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim

The action or process of moving or being moved

A thing done; an act

A formal proposal put to a legislature or committee

The way in which something works or moves

An evacuation of the bowels

Armed conflict

Direct or command (someone) with a movement of the hand or head

Legal proceedings; a lawsuit

Propose for discussion and resolution at a meeting or legislative assembly

Take action on; deal with

The act or process of changing position or place.

The state or process of acting or doing

A meaningful or expressive change in the position of the body or a part of the body; a gesture.

Something that is done or accomplished; a deed. See Usage Note at act.

Active operation

Organized activity to accomplish an objective

The ability or power to move

The causation of change by the exertion of power or a natural process

The manner in which the body moves, as in walking.

Habitual or vigorous activity; energy

A prompting from within; an impulse or inclination

Often actions Behavior or conduct.

(Music) Melodic ascent and descent of pitch.

(Law) A proceeding brought before a court to obtain relief; a lawsuit.

(Law) An application made to a court for an order or a ruling.

Armed encounter; combat

A formal proposal put to the vote under parliamentary procedures.

An engagement between troops or ships

A mechanical device or piece of machinery that moves or causes motion; a mechanism.

The most important or exciting work or activity in a specific field or area

The movement or action of such a device.

A movement or a series of movements, as of an actor.

To direct by making a gesture

Manner of movement

To indicate by making a gesture; signal

The appearance of animation of a figure in painting or sculpture.

To make a motion (that something should happen).

The series of events and episodes that form the plot of a story or play

To signal by making a gesture

A series or number of fast-moving, exciting, or dangerous events, especially in a movie

(uncountable) A state of progression from one place to another.

The operating parts of a mechanism.

(countable) A change of position with respect to time.

The manner in which such parts operate.

(physics) A change from one place to another.

The manner in which a musical instrument can be played; playability

(countable) A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.

The effort of performing or doing something.

(obsolete) An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.

Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.

(philosophy) from κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.

A way of motion or functioning.

Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.

Fast-paced activity.

(law) A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.

The way in which a mechanical device acts when used; especially a firearm.

(euphemistic) A movement of the bowels; the product of such movement.

(firearms) The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism.

(music) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)

(music) The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.

(obsolete) A puppet, or puppet show.

The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on a guitar or other string instrument.

(mechanical engineering) A piece of moving mechanism, such as on a steam locomotive.

(military) Combat.

To gesture indicating a desired movement.

(legal) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).

(proscribed) To introduce a motion in parliamentary procedure.

(mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act on the other object. In any given context, action is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or left group action.

To make a proposal; to offer plans.

(physics) The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.

The act, process, or state of changing place or position; movement; the passing of a body from one place or position to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; - opposed to rest.

The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.

Power of, or capacity for, motion.

The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.

Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of the planets is from west to east.

(bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.

Change in the relative position of the parts of anything; action of a machine with respect to the relative movement of its parts.

(obsolete) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.

Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.

(religion) A religious performance or solemn function, i.e. action sermon, a sacramental sermon in the Scots Presbyterian Church.

A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress; esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly; as, a motion to adjourn.

(science) a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings).

An application made to a court or judge orally in open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.

Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.

Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts.

(Manglish) arrogant

A puppet show or puppet.

To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.

To make a significant movement or gesture, as with the hand; as, to motion to one to take a seat.

To initiate a legal action against someone.

To make proposal; to offer plans.

A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action.

To direct or invite by a motion, as of the hand or head; as, to motion one to a seat.

An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor.

To propose; to move.

The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.

A natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something

Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action.

The use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals

Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun.

A change of position that does not entail a change of location;

Any one of the active processes going on in an organism; the performance of a function; as, the action of the heart, the muscles, or the gastric juice.

A state of change;

Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings.

A formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote;

The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.

The act of changing location from one place to another;

A suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right in a court of justice; in a broad sense, a judicial proceeding for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense.

An optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object;

A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks.

Show, express or direct through movement;

An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.

The mechanical contrivance by means of which the impulse of the player's finger is transmitted to the strings of a pianoforte or to the valve of an organ pipe.

Something done (usually as opposed to something said);

The state of being active;

A judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong

An act by a government body or supranational organization;

A military engagement;

A process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings);

The series of events that form a plot;

The operating part that transmits power to a mechanism;

The trait of being active and energetic and forceful;

The most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field;

Institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against;

Put in effect;

Motion is measured by physical metrics like velocity, whereas action is assessed based on outcomes and efficiency.

Understanding motion is fundamental in physics and engineering for designing systems and solving problems related to movement.

While most actions are intentional, especially in goal-directed activities, sometimes actions can be instinctive or reflexive.

Principles like inertia, acceleration, and forces are fundamental in studying motion.

Yes, motion can occur naturally without human action, as in the case of wind moving leaves.

A pilot adjusting the controls of an airplane is an action that changes the motion of the aircraft.

Actions in organizations, such as strategic decisions, directly impact efficiency, productivity, and success.

Motion specifically refers to physical movement, while action encompasses any deed or effort undertaken, usually with an aim.

Tools like motion sensors and high-speed cameras are used to study and analyze motion.

Yes, actions can be mental or decision-making processes, not just physical deeds.