Meaning of impetus

im•pe•tus

Pronunciation: (im'pi-tus), [key]

— pl. -tus•es.

a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
(broadly) the momentum of a moving body, esp. with reference to the cause of motion.

See also:

Infoplease Tools

Video Library

A large collection of informational and educational videos from animals and landmarks to language arts and history.
Almanacs

A vast compendium of statistics and up-to-date facts and figures, on everything you need to know.
Dictionary

An unabridged dictionary from aalii to zymurgy, including a pronunciation guide.
Atlas

An atlas featuring maps and detailed profiles of all 193 countries and the 50 U.S. states.
Encyclopedia

A current and comprehensive encyclopedia covering all the major branches of knowledge from astrophysics to Zimbabwe.