Prime mover

Prime mover may refer to:

Engineering

Prime mover, is a technical term of art in science and engineering meaning any machine that converts energy from a source energy, into 'mechanical' energy, usually, as a motive power source providing traction to move a vehicle.

A tractor unit, a heavy-duty towing engine that serves as a "prime mover" providing motive power for hauling a towed or trailered load, including:
- Artillery tractor, a military vehicle for hauling an artillery piece
- Ballast tractor, a heavy haulage road or off-road vehicle designed to pull or push heavy or exceptionally large loads using a drawbar
- Heavy hauler, a large transporter for moving oversize loads too large for road travel without an escort and special permit
- Prime mover (locomotive), a component of trains; one of the several types of power plants used in locomotives (the rail road engines) providing tractive power.
- Steam tractor, a vehicle powered by a steam engine which is used for pulling
- Tractor, a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, often in agricultural and construction applications
- In Water transport or shipping (haulage on water), a prime mover (like those found in railroads) may feed another component which provides the direct tractive effort, but is still the 'engine' of the motive system.
A stationary engine unit that powers a rotating eccentric drum (on a vertical shaft), which in turn pulls cables each operating the pump jack above an oil well.

Prime mover theory (Latin: primum movens), a monotheistic concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause or "mover" of all the motion in the universe

Prime Mover (film), a 2009 Australian romantic crime film
"The Prime Mover", an episode of The Twilight Zone
Prime Mover (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel Universe
Prime Mover, a video game published by Psygnosis in 1993
The Prime Movers, a quasi-omniscient race of alien superbeings in the Buck Godot comic series by Phil Foglio