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PlainSpell

move

/muːv/verb, noun

move is spelled M-O-V-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 224 times per million words in written English, the 447th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, move means “To change place or posture; to go, in any manner, from one place or position to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in move?

Letters4: M-O-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing224 times per million words; the 447th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

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).

How common is move?

Move appears 224 times per million words in written English, the 447th 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 move?

  • /muːv/

Move has one syllable (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: En-us-move.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of move

  • moves present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • moving participle, present
  • moved participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • meve

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does move mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To change place or posture; to go, in any manner, from one place or position to another.

    A ship moves rapidly.

  2. 2

    To act; to take action; to begin to act

    to move in a matter

  3. 3

    To change residence, for example from one house, town, or state, to another; to go and live at another place; similarly to change the location of another establishment such as a business. See also move out and move in.

    I decided to move to the country for a more peaceful life.

  4. 4

    To transport (an item) as part of changing residences.

    Before my lease ended, I gave away my old sofa because I didn't want to move it.

  5. 5

    To cause to change place or posture in any manner; to set in motion; to carry, convey, draw, or push from one place to another

    The waves moved the boat up and down.

  6. 6

    To transfer (a piece) from one space or position on the board to another.

    She moved the queen closer to the centre of the board.

  7. 7

    To excite to action by the presentation of motives; to rouse by representation, persuasion, or appeal; to influence.

    This song moves me to dance.

  8. 8

    To arouse the feelings or passions of; especially, to excite to tenderness or compassion, to excite (for example, an emotion).

    That book really moved me.

noun

  1. 1

    The act of moving; a movement.

    A slight move of the tiller, and the boat will go off course.

  2. 2

    An act for the attainment of an object; a step in the execution of a plan or purpose.

    He made another move towards becoming a naturalized citizen.

  3. 3

    A formalized or practiced action used in athletics, dance, physical exercise, self-defense, hand-to-hand combat, etc.

    She always gets spontaneous applause for that one move.

  4. 4

    The event of changing one's residence.

    The move into my fiancé's house took two long days.

  5. 5

    A change in strategy.

    I am worried about our boss's move.

  6. 6

    A transfer, a change from one employer to another.

  7. 7

    The act of moving a token on a gameboard from one position to another according to the rules of the game.

    The best move of the game was when he sacrificed his rook in order to gain better possession.

  8. 8

    A round, in which each player has a turn.

    You can win in three moves if you do that.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate move?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of move: mv.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Move in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchse mouvoir, se déplacer, bouger ((intransitive) to change place or posture; to go), déménager, s'installer, partir (to change residence)
Germansich bewegen ((intransitive) to change place or posture; to go), umziehen, zügeln (to change residence), bewegen ((transitive) to change the place of something), Umzug (the event of changing one's residence), Zug (the act of moving a token on a gameboard)
Portuguesemover-se, mexer-se, movimentar-se ((intransitive) to change place or posture; to go), mudança (the event of changing one's residence), agir (to act; to take action), passo (an act for the attainment of an object or…)
Spanishmoverse ((intransitive) to change place or posture; to go), mudarse, hacer mudanza (to change residence), mover ((transitive) to change the place of something), mudanza (the event of changing one's residence), trasladar (to transfer from one space or position to…)

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 move come from?

From Middle English moven, moeven, meven, borrowed from Old Northern French mover, moveir and Old French mouver, moveir (“to move”) (compare modern French mouvoir from Old French movoir), 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).

What to look up after move