Commotion is noisy confusion and disorder, the kind of chaotic scene where lots of people or things are moving and making noise all at once. When a squirrel runs through your classroom, there's instant commotion as everyone jumps up, chairs scrape the floor, and voices rise in excitement. When a fire alarm goes off during lunch, the cafeteria erupts in commotion as hundreds of students grab their things and head for the exits.

The word captures both the noise and the movement of a disrupted scene. A commotion in the hallway might be caused by students crowding around two people arguing, or by exciting news spreading rapidly through a group. You might hear a commotion outside and look out the window to see what's causing all the fuss.

Commotion is temporary and usually harmless, more chaotic than dangerous. It's different from a true emergency: a commotion might slow things down or create confusion, but it's not necessarily serious. After the squirrel escapes, the commotion dies down, everyone returns to their seats, and normal order resumes. The word suggests that once whatever caused the disturbance passes, things will settle back to normal.