motive force
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We have pretty strong evidence that this new structural class is active against Gram-positive pathogens by selectively dissipating the proton motive force in bacteria," Wong says.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
He stopped being a motive force in the world, and became a passive object in his own story.
From The Verge ● May 31, 2017
I’m not sure desire is quite the motive force for the girl.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 3, 2016
In 1824, a young French scientist and engineer named Sadi Carnot published a paper on “the motive force of fire.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2015
He needed something to spring the spear forward, some way to make it move faster than the fish—some motive force.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
