third law of motion
noun Physics.
See under law of motion.
Words nearby third law of motion
third force,
third gender,
third heart sound,
third house,
third international,
third law of motion,
third law of thermodynamics,
third man,
third man argument,
third market,
third mate
Definition for third law of motion (2 of 2)
law of motion
noun Physics.
any of three laws of classical mechanics, either the law that a body remains at rest or in motion with a constant velocity unless an external force acts on the body (first law of motion), the law that the sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the acceleration produced by the forces, with motion in the direction of the resultant of the forces (second law of motion), or the law that for every force acting on a body, the body exerts a force having equal magnitude and the opposite direction along the same line of action as the original force (third law of motion or law of action and reaction).
Also called
Newton's law of motion.
Origin of law of motion
First recorded in 1660–70