mot

noun

1. A witty remark; a witticism; a bon mot.

   “Here and there turns up a […] savage mot.”

   “‘He comes from Montreal, in Canada.’ ‘Why?’ she said, repeating Dr Johnson's mot with a forced sneer.”

2. (obsolete)A word or a motto; a device.

   “1597–1598, Joseph Hall, Virgidemiarum With his big title, an Italian mot”

   “Tarquin's eye may read the mot afar.”

3. (obsolete)A note or brief strain on a bugle.

   “Comrades, mark these three mots — it is the call of the Knight of the Fetterlock”

4. (Ireland, UK, slang)A woman; a wife.

   “Come wed, my dear, and let's agree, / Then of the booze-ken you'll be free; / No sneer from cully, mot, or froe / Dare then reproach my Bess for Joe; / For he's the kiddy rum and queer, / That all St. Giles's boys do fear.”

   “And we shall caper a-heel-and-toeing, / A Newgate hornpipe some fine day; / With the mots, their ogles throwing, / Tol lol, &c. / And old Cotton humming his pray.”

5. (Ireland, UK, slang)A prostitute.
6. (Ireland, UK, slang)A landlady.

   “After some altercation with the "mot" of the "ken" (mistress of the lodging-house) about the cleanliness of a knife or fork, my new acquaintance began to arrange "ground," &c., for the night's work.”

7. (UK, colloquial, countable)An MOT test (an annual test of roadworthiness for most UK motor vehicles over three years old, or four years old in Northern Ireland).

   “I can’t drive over this week, the car is in for its MOT.”

8. (UK, broadly, countable)Any regular checkup.

   “Mr. Baines: We have also said in our response that we believe that an 'MOT' for houses would be a good idea. How and when you apply this— Q120 Mr Olner: Wait a minute! I have got a motorcar and I have to have an MOT after three years, so if you are going to talk about an MOT for housing stock, what are we talking about in years […]”

   “2026 January 19, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Emma Reynolds MP, Government unveils biggest overhaul to water in a generation (press release) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-unveils-biggest-overhaul-to-water-in-a-generation The new regulator will introduce an 'MOT' approach for water company infrastructure, requiring health checks on pipes, pumps and more.”

9. (UK, countable, uncountable)An aggregate which meets one of the three Ministry of Transport standards for use in road, path and sports court subbase layers.

   “MOT Type 1 gives the strongest base, MOT Type 3 the best drainage, and MOT Type 2 is intermediate for both”

10. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of management of technology.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism)Initialism of microwave oven transformer.
12. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of member of the tribe (“a Jew”).

    “And, of course, she and her family would be welcome in our home too, with bagels, crembos—and even the kind of four course meal we were lucky enough to enjoy with them, our fellow MoTs.”

    “This isn’t the first time American Apparel founder Dov Charney, who is Jewish, has gotten himself in hot water with his fellow MOTs.”

13. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism)Initialism of magnetooptical trap.

name

1. The ancient Canaanite god of death and the underworld.
2. (UK, abbreviation, alt-of, historical, initialism)Initialism of Ministry of Transport (a former name of the Department for Transport) still in use relating to the MOT test it made compulsory in 1961, and three grades of aggregate it specified for road, path and sports court subbase layers.

verb

1. (UK, colloquial)To subject a motor vehicle to an MOT test.

   “I've got to get the car MOTed by Friday.”