gross motor
Whole-body physical skills
Gross motor refers to movements involving large muscle groups and whole-body coordination—walking, running, jumping, climbing, throwing.
The term appears mainly in developmental and medical contexts, contrasting with fine motor skills like writing or buttoning: Her gross motor skills are age-appropriate, but she struggles with fine motor tasks.
- largeOf great size
- movementChange in position
- walkingLocomotion on foot
- runningSwift foot travel
- jumpingPropelling oneself airborne
climbing · monkey bars · obstacle course · crawling · tummy time · balance · coordination · body awareness · toddler · early childhood · physical · physical therapy · muscles · muscle control · limbs · playground · hopping · throwing
- developmentgrowth, progress, advancement, expansion, improvement
- baby carebottles, bottle feeding, pacifiers, cribs, baby oil
- child developmentbaby, toddler, newborn, infancy, milestones
- abilitiesstrength, agility, endurance, flexibility, dexterity
- athleticismspeed, agility, strength, endurance, stamina
- coordinationbalance, timing, rhythm, synchronization, alignment
gross motorfine motor skills
Small muscle control ability
manual dexterity · hand-eye coordination · pincer grasp · dexterity · finger dexterity
gross, motor, grossly, grossness, grosser, grossest, motors, motored, motoring