How to Use kinetic energy in a Sentence

kinetic energy

noun
  • What is the kinetic energy of the spacecraft at the end of the rocket burn?
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 31 May 2018
  • The kinetic energy depends on both the mass and the speed of the faller.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 1 June 2018
  • The kinetic energy depends on both the mass of the object and the speed.
    — Rhett Allain, Wired, 10 Nov. 2020
  • When the balloon hits the floor and stops, that kinetic energy has to go somewhere.
    — Exploratorium, Scientific American, 22 May 2014
  • The movie has won raves, in large part for the kinetic energy Buckley brings to the role.
    — Time, 19 June 2019
  • Even the fireworks that opened and closed his set seemed to burst with less kinetic energy than the singer himself.
    — Graham Ambrose, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2018
  • Racers are dealing with a lot of kinetic energy and strong forces.
    — John Eric Goff, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 2022
  • So, the change in kinetic energy part of the power is just a tiny fraction of the total power.
    — Rhett Allain, Wired, 1 Oct. 2020
  • All of the energy comes from the kinetic energy of moving air.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 13 June 2019
  • If the axles increase in energy, the train has to decrease in kinetic energy and slow down—even on a flat track.
    — Rhett Allain, Wired, 21 Oct. 2020
  • The amount of kinetic energy depends on the mass of the car and its velocity (v).
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 18 Oct. 2024
  • The work-energy principle says that the work (w) done on a point mass is equal to its change in kinetic energy.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2019
  • When the bottle hits the wall, the bottle shatters spreading the kinetic energy out across a wide area.
    — Allison Barrie, Fox News, 31 May 2018
  • Ocean waves hold tremendous kinetic energy, enough to shape entire landscapes over time.
    — New Atlas, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Although throws made with the atlatl are faster, the javelin has more kinetic energy because of its higher mass.
    — Ars Technica, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Take your foot off the gas and regen braking will capture the kinetic energy to recharge the battery and slow the car down to a near stop.
    — Robert Duffer, chicagotribune.com, 8 Aug. 2017
  • The kinetic energy of the sport now exceeds the capacity of the human body to cope with it.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 4 Jan. 2023
  • The idea is to have the total work done on the human decrease the kinetic energy to zero (so that the human stops).
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 1 June 2018
  • Patience is a virtue, because all of that kinetic energy that your meat was just absorbing now needs time to settle down.
    — Matthew Zuras, Popular Mechanics, 14 June 2021
  • In that case, the maximum amount of kinetic energy is recouped and put back into the battery.
    — Ray Magliozzi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2023
  • In essence, the spacecraft gets a net gain in speed by stealing a little bit of the planet’s orbital kinetic energy.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 19 June 2025
  • There is some kinetic energy to Kirsch’s blocking and shot choices, but one grows tired of the house style rather quickly.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Then there are tens of thousands of pieces of trackable debris the size of a softball or larger that have the kinetic energy of a large bomb.
    — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 14 Dec. 2022
  • One of the most important of these quantities is the kinetic energy in the fluid.
    — Quanta Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018
  • This early burst of kinetic energy continues through the album’s first half, which is tailored to the dance floor.
    — Mark Richardson, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2021
  • When the car slows down, that kinetic energy gets converted to energy stored in the battery.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 7 July 2023
  • This move brought Leibniz close to the modern notion of kinetic energy.
    — Anthony Gottlieb, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Bright and kinetic energy pulled helplessly into a black hole.
    — Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
  • So much kinetic energy and style infused the visuals that I was left wanting more.
    — James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Makers must balance the heft of all the parts in order to optimize how much kinetic energy each flywheel can store.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 9 July 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kinetic energy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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