From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcommotioncom‧mo‧tion /kəˈməʊʃən $ -ˈmoʊ-/ noun [singular, uncountable] LOUD/NOISYsudden noisy activity They heard a commotion downstairs. Everyone looked to see what was causing the commotion.
Examples from the Corpus
commotion• After a commotion, a wait and another commotion, my father appeared in the window above us.• I heard a commotion outside.• We heard a commotion downstairs and ran down to see what was happening.• There is a commotion behind me, some one motions him to leave, there is a brief scuffle and he is gone.• Suddenly there was a commotion by the front door, and two police officers marched in.• Suddenly there was a commotion behind me.• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.• As usual he brought with him a collection of friends and a lot of commotion.• A right commotion was taking place.• They kept quite still, although all the commotion of the station swirled around them.• And it was true, she was finding breathing increasingly difficult, thanks to the wild commotion in her heart.causing ... commotion• They stood in a tight bunch and craned their necks to see what was causing the commotion.• M., we were awakened by a large racket and went outside to see what was causing the commotion.Origin commotion (1300-1400) Old French Latin commotio, from commovere “to move violently”, from com- ( → COM-) + movere “to move” 