prime mover Hear it!

prime mover definition

prime mover

    1. the original force in a series of transmissions of force
    2. any initiating or principal force
  2. any natural force applied by people to produce power, as muscular energy or flowing water
  3. a machine, as a turbine, that converts a natural force into productive power
  4. in the Aristotelian philosophical tradition, the first cause of all movement, itself unmoved

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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