locomotion
/ˌloʊ.kəˈmoʊ.ʃən/noun
locomotion is spelled L-O-C-O-M-O-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, locomotion means “The ability to move from place to place, or the act of doing so” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of locomotion is locomotions.
How many letters and syllables are in locomotion?
| Letters | 10: L-O-C-O-M-O-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is locomotion?
Locomotion appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce locomotion?
- UK /ləʊ.kəˈməʊ.ʃən/
- US /ˌloʊ.kəˈmoʊ.ʃən/
- Australia /ləʉ.kəˈməʉ.ʃən/
Locomotion has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-locomotion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with locomotion?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as locomotion from its last stressed vowel (/oʊʃən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of locomotion
- locomotions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does locomotion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The ability to move from place to place, or the act of doing so.
- 2
Self-powered motion by which a whole organism changes its location through walking, running, jumping, crawling, swimming, brachiating or flying.
- 3
A dance, originally popular in the 1960s, in which the arms are used to mimic the motion of the connecting rods of a steam locomotive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Locomotion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ability to move:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | locomotion |
| German | Fortbewegungsfähigkeit, Lokomotion, Fortbewegung |
| Portuguese | locomoção |
| Spanish | locomoción |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does locomotion come from?
From French locomotion, from Latin locō (literally “from a place”) (ablative of locus (“place”)) + mōtiōnem (“motion, a moving”) (nominative mōtio), from Latin movēre (“move; change, exchange, go in or out, quit”), from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move, drive”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).