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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 someone reaching for the sky
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Ris forReach

Reach might mean you arrive somewhere after a journey, as in "she reached home after a long trip away". It might also mean stretching out for something. The picture is of someone reaching for the sky. If you can't reach something no matter how far you stretch out your arms, it is said to be out of reach.
Photo of a family riding a bike
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Ris forRide

You ride something when you sit on or in it and it takes you places, or does something interesting. Usually you ride a bike or a horse to go somewhere, and you ride something like a Ferris wheel or other fairground ride for fun.
Photo of a dog rolling over
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Ris forRoll

You roll when you lie down and move from your front to your back (or the other way around). If you keep rolling you can travel quite some distance. You roll a ball or something else round when you push or pull it along the ground and it moves by turning over and over without losing contact with the ground.

Ris forRun

Running is a lot faster than walking. When you run, you take much longer steps, and you'll find that both of your feet are off the ground at the same time as you run.
Photo of a boy scout saluting
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Sis forSalute

A salute is a formal gesture of respect. Salutes are most often used by the military, but are also used by organisations like the Scouts.

Sis forShake

You shake something when you move it vigorously up and down or from side to side. The dog in the photo is shaking water out of its coat. People shake drinks like milk to make them frothy. Shaking can be used to communciate too. People shake their heads from side to side to mean "no", and two people will shake hands as a greeting.
Photo of a woman shrugging
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Sis forShrug

A shrug is an action where you raise your shoulders up. Shrugging is a way of saying "I don't know".
Photo of someone sitting on a chair.
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Sis forSit

You sit down when you put most of your weight on your bottom, on a surface like a chair or sofa. Sitting down is usually more comfortable than standing up.
Photo of a car skidding
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Sis forSkid

You skid when you slide along the ground, with no rotation. Cars can skid along the road when there is ice on the road or they go too fast and lose control.
Photo of a little girl smacking her father
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Sis forSlap

You slap someone when you hit them with the back or front of your open hand.