mobility

From Middle French mobilité, and its source, Latin mōbilitās (“mobility”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mə(ʊ)ˈbɪlɪti/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /moʊˈbɪlɪti/

mobility (countable and uncountable, plural mobilities)

1. The ability to move; capacity for movement. [from 15th c.]

   Synonym: mobileness

   • 2015 June 15, Hadley Freeman, The Guardian:

     I find the enduring existence of high heels both a frustrating mystery and a testament to the triumph of women’s neuroses over their mobility.

   • 2022 December 14, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 32:

     In the late 19th and early 20th century, the festive season was also a period of great mobility before, during and after Christmas Day. But the railways kept working.

2. (now chiefly literary) A tendency to sudden change; mutability, changeableness. [from 16th c.]
3. (military) The ability of a military unit to move or be transported to a new position. [from 18th c.]
4. (chiefly physics) The degree to which particles of a liquid or gas are in movement. [from 19th c.]
5. (chiefly sociology) People's ability to move between different social levels or professional occupations. [from 19th c.]
   • 2020 July 28, Thomas B. Edsall, “Trump Is Trying to Bend Reality to His Will”, in New York Times‎:

     The difficulty of rising up the economic ladder is reflected in the decline in mobility in the United States. […] The frustration over the lack of mobility is particularly acute for those without college degrees.

• immobility

• congestion