inertia
Americannoun
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inertness, especially with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.
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Physics.
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the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force.
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an analogous property of a force.
electric inertia.
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Medicine/Medical. lack of activity, especially as applied to a uterus during childbirth when its contractions have decreased or stopped.
noun
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the state of being inert; disinclination to move or act
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physics
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the tendency of a body to preserve its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
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an analogous property of other physical quantities that resist change
thermal inertia
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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.
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See more at Newton's laws of motion See also mass
Other Word Forms
- inertial adjective
- noninertial adjective
Etymology
Origin of inertia
First recorded in 1705–15; from Latin: “lack of skill, slothfulness”; inert, -ia
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.
While options exist already for individuals to open their own retirement plans through IRAs, people often get stymied by the administrative hurdles and their own inertia and fail to create such accounts, experts said.
From MarketWatch
While options exist already for individuals to open their own retirement plans through IRAs, people often get stymied by the administrative hurdles and their own inertia and fail to create such accounts, experts said.
From MarketWatch
This removes friction in consumption, stripping out inertia in subscriptions, constantly finding the cheapest and best option, reducing companies margins and thus profits.
From MarketWatch
As accustomed as we’ve all become to European inertia, don’t miss early signs that a turn may be possible.
For this weekend’s meeting, the “base case is policy inertia,” Innes said.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
