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.

Photo of a woman jogging

Fitness

Man with outstretched arms.
Michael Coghlan / CC BY-SA

Ois forOutstretch

Outstretch means to spread out or expand some part of your body. The man in the picture has outstretched arms.
Motion
Photo of a hand patting a small dog
Sleepyneko / CC BY-SA

Pis forPat

You pat something when you touch it with the palm of your hand. People usually pat dogs and cats on the head, or give each other a pat on the back for a job well done. A very similar word to pat is stroke, where you run your hand along something slowly as you are patting it.
Motion, Verbs
A statue pointing.
dm-set / CC BY-SA

Pis forPoint

Pointing is a motion you can make with your hand to indicate the presence of something. Most people point using one outstretched finger, typically their index finger, which is also called the 'pointer finger.'
Motion, Verbs
Photo of a woman posing
Quinn Dombrowski / CC BY-SA

Pis forPose

Posing is holding a position so that someone can draw, paint or take a photo of you. The woman in the picture is posing so that a group of art students can draw her.
Motion
Photo of some water being poured
Jenny Downing / CC BY-SA

Pis forPour

You pour a liquid when you tip it from one container into another, like when you pour juice from a bottle into a glass. The picture is of some water being poured.
Motion, Verbs
Photo of prancing horses
Daniel Johnson / CC BY-SA

Pis forPrance

A prance is a very proud, springy step. Usually when you are talking about prancing, you mean a horse.
Motion, Verbs
Photo of a bird preening itself.
Putneypics / CC BY-SA

Pis forPreen

Preening is a word used for the way birds clean and groom themselves. Birds use their beaks to straighten their feathers and remove dirt and parasites. During the preening process, many species of birds cover their feathers with oil from a gland at the base of their tails.
Motion
Photo of someone being punched.
Andrea Allen / CC BY-SA

Pis forPunch (hit)

You punch something when you hit it with your fist. People punch each other when they fight or they punch inanimate objects like walls when they are frustrated.
Motion, Verbs
Photo of a girl pushing
Mollypop / CC BY-SA

Pis forPush

When you push something it goes away from you. When you pull something it comes towards you. The little girl in the picture is pushing a big stone wheel.
Motion, Verbs
Photo of racing cyclists
Team Traveller / CC BY-SA

Ris forRace

A race is where two or more people or animals try and take the shortest possible time to travel a set distance. The winner is the fastest. There are lots of different kinds of race. The picture is of some people racing each other on bicycles, but there are also horse races, dog races, running races, car races and of course anything that can move can be raced.
Motion, Sports

And also ...

Motion, Nod, Rear, Stunt, Tremble, Wiggle

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