impulse
A thrust; a push; a sudden force that impels.
Other meanings
A wish or urge, particularly a sudden one prompting action.
“When I saw the new book, I couldn't resist the impulse to browse through it.”
The integral of force over time.
“The total impulse from the impact will depend on the kinetic energy of the projectile.”
Related words
- counterimpulse
- impulseless
- impulse buyer
- impulse good
- impulse noise
- impulse buy
- impulse buying
- impulse control disorder
- impulse function
- impulse purchase
- impulse response
- specific impulse
Example sentences
Word history
From Latin "impulsus".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “impulse” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.