Verbs of Body Movement: We spend our entire time moving around places. Movement is an essential part of our life. Many terms are used for movements rather than specific movements. In this article, you will find a list of movement words to add to your diction. This will help you with words to describe movements in your day-to-day life.
Study the most important English Vocabulary Words identified by our experts and learn the right vocabulary to use in your day to day conversations
List of Movement Words
Name of the Movement Words
- Amble
- Bend
- Bounce
- Break
- Carry
- Cartwheel
- Catch
- Clap
- Crawl
- Cry
- Dance
- Dart
- Dive
- Drag
- Drop
- Hit
- Hold
- Jog
- Jump
- Kick
- Kneel
- Laugh
- Lean
- Leap
- Lie down
- Lift
- Limp
- Lope
- March
- Point
- Pour
- Pull
- Punch
- Push
- Put down
- Roll
- Run
- Saunter
- Scamper
- Sit
- Slip
- Spin
- Squat
- Stagger
- Stand
- Stretch
- Sway
- Throw
- Tiptoe
- Traipse
- Walk
- Wave
Meaning and Example of the Movement Words on the list
Amble
Meaning: Walking in a slow, relaxed manner.
Example: She ambled down the street, periodically pausing to peer into the shop windows.
Bend
Meaning: To change the position of your body or a part of your body such that it is not straight
Example: When lifting big goods, always be careful to bend your knees.
Bounce
Meaning: To go up or away after colliding with a surface.
Example: He believed the ball had bounced on the line, but the umpire ruled it out.
Break
Meaning: To split abruptly or violently into two or more pieces or to stop working due to damage
Example: Be careful not to break anything inside the box.
Carry
Meaning: To hold and lift someone or something and transport them from one place to another.
Example: You need to carry these two bags up the hill.
Cartwheel
Meaning: A quick, precise movement similar to a wheel turn in which you throw yourself sideways onto one hand, then onto both hands with your legs and arms straight and your legs pointing up before landing back on your feet
Example: When it comes to cartwheels, no one is as perfect as John.
Catch
Meaning: Grabbing hold of something
Example: He performed an excellent catch while we were practicing.
Clap
Meaning: To make a brief, loud sound by slamming your hands together
Example: Everyone started clapping after watching their extraordinary dance performance.
Crawl
Meaning: To travel down a surface on your hands and knees or with your body extended out
Example: The baby just learned to crawl and is not ready to take a rest at all.
Cry
Meaning: To tears as a result of an intense feeling, such as sadness or suffering
Example: As soon as he heard the news, he started crying like a baby.
Dance
Meaning: To move the body and feet in time with the music
Example: The DJ surely knows how to make the crowd dance.
Dart
Meaning: A rapid, unexpected movement:
Example: We need to dart for the exit door.
Dive
Meaning: to dive into the water, especially with your head and arms first, or to move beneath the water:
Example: If you look carefully at his stance, you will see the time and effort he puts in to perfect that dive.
Drag
Meaning: To pull anything along a surface to shift it
Example: Don’t drag it across the floor. It’ll leave scratch marks.
Drop
Meaning: To allow anything to fall or to allow something to fall
Example: Ricky just dropped the keys to his apartment.
Hit
Meaning: To forcefully move your hand or an object onto the surface of something so that it makes contact with it
Example: I didn’t mean to hit him while practicing my new moves.
Hold
Meaning: To grab something and keep it in your hand or arms:
Example: Let me hold the bags while you get done with your shoelace.
Jog
Meaning: To run at a steady, consistent pace, especially as a form of exercise
Example: I have been jogging for the past one month, and I already feel very active.
Jump
Meaning: To use the legs to propel yourself off the ground and into the air
Example: If you want to get selected, you need to work on your jumps.
Kick
Meaning: To strike something or someone with one’s foot or move one’s feet and legs suddenly and violently.
Example: Jack kicked the ball very hard cleverly inside the goalpost.
Kneel
Meaning: To descend into or remain in a position in which one or both knees are on the ground
Example: Harry kneeled on the ground to look for his bracelet.
Laugh
Meaning: To smile while making sounds with your voice that indicate you find something amusing or joyful
Example: I can’t stop laughing at the fact that you mistook me for being the professor.
Lean
Meaning: To slant in one direction or to move the top of the body in one direction.
Example: The player leaned to kiss that teen fan.
Leap
Meaning: To perform a huge jump or quick movement, typically from one location to another.
Example: He leaped out of the way to save himself from being hit by the falling shade.
Lie down
Meaning: to put your body in a flat position, usually to sleep or rest
Example: Let’s lay down on the grass and catch a breath.
Lift
Meaning: To relocate something from a lower to a higher location
Example: He helped me lift the boxes onto the car.
Limp
Meaning: To walk slowly and awkwardly as a result of an injured or sore leg or foot
Example: I’m sure he is injured severely. He has been limping ever since that tackle.
Lope
Meaning: To run in long, leisurely strides:
Example: He has been loping across the hall since he entered here.
March
Meaning: A walk, especially by a group of troops all walking at the same pace and with the same movement
Example: The soldiers were exhausted after the long march.
Point
Meaning: To draw the attention of others to something by pointing out your finger towards it
Example: He has been pointing in that direction for a long time.
Pour
Meaning: To cause a substance to flow from a container, particularly into another container, by lifting only one edge of the container containing the substance.
Example: Let me pour out the juice to the guest.
Pull
Meaning: To bring something closer to yourself.
Example: Help me pull the rope out of the well.
Punch
Meaning: A powerful fist strike
Example: He punched the wooden block hard enough to cause it to break.
Push
Meaning: To apply physical pressure or force, particularly with your hands, to shift anything into a different position, the one that is farther away from you
Example: Let me help you push the cart up the hill.
Put down
Meaning: To keep something down.
Example: He put down all the products in the garage.
Roll
Meaning: To travel from one place to another by rotating over and over or from side to side
Example: He is flexible enough to do rolls across the ground.
Run
Meaning: To travel quicker than walking by taking short steps with each foot lifted before the next one contacts the ground
Example: With that training, he will improve his running.
Saunter
Meaning: To wander slowly and relatedly in no particular direction
Example: Jack sauntered his way back home.
Scamper
Meaning: Running with small steps.
Example: The children scampered around the park.
Sit
Meaning: To be in a position where the bottom half of the body is supported by a seat or other sort of support and the upper half of the body is upright
Example: Would you mind if I sit here?
Slip
Meaning: To slide without meaning to do so
Example: He slipped on the waxed floor.
Spin
Meaning: To go around and around, especially quickly
Example: The way he spins on the rollerblades shows how skillful he is.
Squat
Meaning: Should stand close to the ground, balancing on the front half of your feet, legs bent under your body
Example: If you can practice squats every day, you will surely develop a lot of balance.
Stagger
Meaning: To walk or move with difficulty, as though about to fall
Example: He managed to stagger to the phone and call for aid after being attacked.
Stand
Meaning: To be in a vertical position or to induce a vertical position, especially by straightening the legs
Example: We all were standing in a queue to enter the bus.
Stretch
Meaning: To induce anything to travel in a specific direction, often as far as feasible
Example: Make sure you stretch before we start our workouts.
Sway
Meaning: To move gently from one side to the other
Example: He is swaying peacefully, enjoying the music on his earphones.
Throw
Meaning: To propel something into the air with vigor, particularly by a rapid movement of the arm
Example: The throw was on point, and it directly hit the wickets.
Tiptoe
Meaning: On your toes, with your heel elevated off the ground.
Example: They walked on tiptoe across the room so as not to wake the baby.
Traipse
Meaning: To travel from one location to another while becoming tired or bored
Example: I spent the day traipsing around the neighborhood but didn’t find anything fun to do.
Walk
Meaning: To move by putting one foot in front of the other and allowing each foot to contact the ground before raising the next
Example: I would usually walk my way back home from school.
Wave
Meaning: To greet someone by raising your hand and moving it from side to side
Example: I was waving my hand in the air, but he never looked at me.