inertia

in·er·tia

Use inertia in a sentence

Inertia will continue until someone picks up one of these balls.

noun

The definition of inertia is when an object remains still or moves in a constant direction at a constant speed.

Facts About Inertia

Inertia will continue unless the object meets some external force.
The more inertia an object has, the less the object will change its motion when it meets another force.
The ground is the force, the motion, that causes the object to no longer have inertia and to instead stray from its speed and direction.

An example of inertia is a bowling ball sitting still on a shelf.
An example of inertia is a person walking in a straight line down the street.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"inertia." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 12 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA>.

APA Style

inertia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA

inertia

Physics the tendency of matter to remain at rest if at rest, or, if moving, to keep moving in the same direction, unless affected by some outside force
a tendency to remain in a fixed condition without change; disinclination to move or act

Origin of inertia

L, lack of art or skill, ignorance from iners: see inert

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"inertia." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 12 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA>.

APA Style

inertia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA

inertia

noun

Physics The tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force; the resistance of a body to changes in momentum.
Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change: an entrenched bureaucracy's inertia.

Origin of inertia

Latin idleness from iners inert- inert ; see inert .

Related Forms:

in·er′tial
adjective

in·er′tial·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"inertia." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 12 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA>.

APA Style

inertia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA

The resistance of a body to changes in its momentum. Because of inertia, a body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion continues moving in a straight line and at a constant speed, unless a force is applied to it. Mass can be considered a measure of a body's inertia.

See more at Newton's laws of motion See also mass

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"inertia." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 12 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA>.

APA Style

inertia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/INERTIA

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural inertias or inertiæ)

(physics, uncountable or countable) The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
(figuratively) In a person, unwillingness to take action.
(medicine) Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

Origin

From Latin inertia (“lack of art or skill, inactivity, indolence”), from iners (“unskilled, inactive”), from in- (“without, not”) + ars (“skill, art”).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.