All 10 Uses

motive
in
Early Cases Of Hercule Poirot
(Auto-generated)

What earthly motive could he have had?†
Chpt 1

motive = reason (for doing something)
The motive, that's what I can't get.'†
Chpt 1
We must seek for a motive.†
Chpt 3 *
But what could be his motive?†
Chpt 7
'One hundred thousand dollars' worth of jewellery is a very good motive for anyone.†
Chpt 7
I now knew that John Wilson had the means for the crime-but what about the motive?†
Chpt 7
Saint Alard had the motive.†
Chpt 7
She was, you see, the motive.†
Chpt 9
'The motive is obscure,' I said thoughtfully, 'but I'm certain that Parker's a bad lot.†
Chpt 10
The case against him seems pretty clear but for the lack of motive, and that may come out later.†
Chpt 10

Definitions:

(1) (motive as in: What is her motive?)
a reason for doing something
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Less commonly, motive can refer to something that causes motion in an inanimate object. Even less commonly, it can refer to a distinctive feature in music, art, or literature.