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Photo of people running a race.

List of action and motion words

Ways of moving around and things you can do with your body. Many of these overlap with the verbs category.

View in the Videographic Dictionary

Photo of a cat biting a woman on the nose
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Bis forBite

You bite something when you hold it in your mouth, between your teeth. You usually bite to break off a piece of something, like biting off a mouthful of an apple. The cat in the picture is biting the woman's nose. Insects like mosquitos that don't have mouths like ours can still bite you with their tongues.
Photo of a man blinking
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Bis forBlink

You blink when you briefly close both of your eyes at the same time. You blink to keep your eyes wet with tears and to keep them clean. Quite often people blink when a camera flash goes off, so they look like they have their eyes closed in the photo.
Photo of a bouncing ball.
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Bis forBounce

Something bounces when it hits a surface and then springs back in another direction. The ball in the picture is bouncing along the pavement.
Bowing is a way of greeting or acknowledging someone, or a mark of respect. You bow by lowering the top half of your body. In some countries, you can bow just by lowering your head.
Photo of a cantering horse
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Cis forCanter

A canter is the second fastest gait of a horse, faster than a trot and slower than a gallop. It has a beat of three.
Photo of some people doing cartwheels
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A cartwheel is a gymnastic move where you go over sideways onto your hands and keep turning around like the wheel of a cart. Cartwheels are great fun to do on the beach or on a lawn.
Photo of a boy catching a ball
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Cis forCatch

You catch something when it is flying through the air towards you and you grab it with your hands. Dogs can catch things like balls and frisbees in their mouths.

Cis forChew

Chewing is when you put food in your mouth and keep pressing or grinding it between your teeth until it is soft and mushy enough to swallow. People and animals will chew a lot of things that aren't food though. Some people chew their fingernails, or the ends of pens and pencils. Dogs will chew your shoes and furniture so it is good to get them a chew toy like in the picture.
Photo of a baby clapping
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Cis forClap

Clapping is when you bring your hands together to make a loud noise. People often clap after a performance to show that they liked it.
Photo of a child climbing a tree
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Cis forClimb

Climbing is a way of getting up something that is too high or too steep to just walk up. Things that people usually climb are cliffs, mountains or trees. Adults usually climb cliffs, mountains or rock faces, and children usually climb trees or playground equipment. But you can climb lots of other things too.