Locomotion — A Vocabulary Story
Locomotion Day
Preeti had invented Locomotion Day, and nobody in her family was allowed to walk.
Locomotion means the ability or act of moving from one place to another.
"Walking is the boring kind of locomotion," she explained at breakfast. "Today we get to the park a different way. Everyone picks one."
Her dad said he would pick the car. Preeti said cars did not count because the car was doing the locomotion, not him. Her dad said that was a very strict rule for a Sunday.
Preeti chose hopping. Her mum chose skipping, which she said she had not done since school and turned out to be rather good at. Her big brother Sanjay chose walking backwards, which was technically walking, but Preeti allowed it because it looked ridiculous.
Her dad, after a lot of thought, chose the crab.
The crab was a mistake. The crab meant scuttling sideways, low to the ground, and it was very slow, and the neighbours came out to look.
"Morning, Mister Sharma," said the lady from number twelve.
"Morning," said Preeti's dad, sideways.
The park was a short walk away. It took forty minutes by hop, skip, backwards and crab. Preeti's legs ached. Her mum was out of breath. Sanjay had walked backwards into a bin, a hedge and a very patient man with a pushchair.
At the gates, Preeti's dad stood up slowly, brushed the grit off his hands, and looked at the swings gratefully.
"Next year," he said, "I am choosing bicycle."
"A bicycle is a machine," said Preeti. "It does the locomotion for you."
"Then next year," said her dad, "I am staying on the sofa."
Preeti considered this.
"Sitting still," she said, "is not locomotion either."
Word Definition
locomotion
meaning
the ability or act of moving from one place to another; the power of movement, especially in living creatures
synonyms
movement · motion · travel · mobility
antonyms
stillness · immobility
example sentence
A cheetah's locomotion is incredibly fast and graceful.