clockwork
45
4.5
- noun
- /ˈklɑkˌwɜrk/
:
mecanismo de relojería
They left behind them booby traps, landmines and even rifles that operated by clockwork.
- They left behind them booby traps, landmines and even rifles that operated by clockwork.
Examples
-
So these were mechanical clockwork clocks.
-
The automated vehicles ran like clockwork along the long, straight tunnel.
Fiction book (2001) -
It seems so long ago that the clockwork of events that led me here began to turn.
-
For five months, all of our rendezvous went like clockwork, even in rough weather.
Fiction book (1995) -
There could never be an England here, with its tidy, clockwork sense of the world, everything discrete and self-contained.
Fiction book (1999) -
With a low moan, the clockworks start to shudder and turn.
Fiction book (1994) -
The first proto-computers were simple adding machines, using toothed wheels similar to clockworks to tally strings of numbers.
Academic text (2003) -
The clock inside the wall works precisely, with each gear moving in clockwork harmony.
-
He admired the intricate design of the antique clockwork mechanism that powered the old watch.
-
The music box played beautifully, its clockwork components turning smoothly and creating a lovely tune.
Synonyms
8
6.4
The parts inside a watch that make it run
1
7.8
The wheels and gears inside a machine that make it move
Small moving parts inside a watch that make it work
Small moving parts inside a watch or other precise machine
Idioms
Compounds
How Accurate
- Specialized
5
4.3
- Specialized
1
5.1
∞
1.0
45
4.5
11
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word clockwork comes from the simple parts clock and work, meaning the 'work' inside a clock — the gears and coiled spring that make it move when you wind it. So clockwork now names that mechanical system and is also used for anything that runs in a very regular, precise way.