Dictionary

go through the motions en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To do something in a mechanical, unreflective manner, especially as a matter of routine and without commitment or enthusiasm; to perform a task perfunctorily.
   • They went through the motions of living, but they didn't live. 1919, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, chapter 15, in Rainbow Valley, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, →OCLC:
   • Aleck was a Christian from the cradle, and duty and the force of habit required her to go through the motions. 1905, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The $30,000 Bequest:
   • The whole "weapons of mass destruction" concern was phony from the start, and the drama about inspections was just kabuki: going through the motions. 2005 June 12, Michael Kinsley, “No Smoking Gun”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 12 Dec 2024:
   • In screening an adviser, these should be your goals: —To determine whether he or she cares about helping clients or just goes through the motions […] 2003 July 8, Jason Zweig, Benjamin Graham, “Get Rich Slowly: How to Pick a Financial Adviser”, in TIME, archived from the original on 29 Jan 2012:

Forms

Relateds

autopilot

Translations (7)

es andar por inercia (do something in a mechanical manner) · cmn 走過場 /走过场 (do something in a mechanical manner) · es seguir los ademanes (do something in a mechanical manner) · fi suorittaa mekaanisesti (do something in a mechanical manner) · cmn 敷衍 (do something in a mechanical manner) · pl markować (do something in a mechanical manner) · es continuar maquinalmente (do something in a mechanical manner)