From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtime and motion studyˌtime and ˈmotion ˌstudy noun [countable] BEa study of working methods to find out how effective they areFrom Longman Business Dictionarytime and motion studyˌtime and ˈmotion ˌstudy (also time study), motion studyHUMAN RESOURCES a study of the time spent on particular activities, in order to find out how effective working methods areIn a time and motion study the question asked is: why can’t all workers produce the output achieved by the best workers? → study