Meaning
engine, motor
- mover, motive, drive
In a sentence
Il motore della macchina fa uno strano rumore.
The car engine is making a strange noise.
Hai spento il motore prima di scendere?
Did you turn off the engine before getting out?
La curiosità è il mio motore ogni giorno.
Curiosity is my driving force every day.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| motore | masculine · singular |
| motori | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- For vehicles and machines, motore is standard. Macchina can mean the whole car, not specifically the engine.
- For electric devices, motore often means the motor unit; engine in the fuel-burning sense is still motore in Italian.
- In figurative use, il motore di qualcosa means the driving force behind it; more common in journalism and formal speech.