mechanism
91
4.4
- noun
- /ˈmɛkəˌnɪzəm/
- Jargon
:
mecanismo
- Engineers designed a new mechanism that allows the robot to move more smoothly.
- steering mechanism
- valve mechanism
- release mechanism
It's now time to work out this hinge mechanism up top here.
- It's now time to work out this hinge mechanism up top here.
- And this actual gear mechanism saves all of them.
Examples
-
And here we have an actual piece of the mechanism of a grand piano.
-
Schmidt heard an angry whine as the machine's drive mechanism came up to speed.
Fiction book (1991) -
And this bit here is a separate mechanism with a bell on top.
-
How did you set about cleaning this really complex mechanism and what methods did you use?
-
And it's a dual control mechanism, which means it has two parts.
-
Something must be wrong with the steering mechanism, he decided a minute later.
Fiction book (1991) -
Look at my camera, it's wet, the mechanism is wet, the shutters are broken.
-
The gyroscope is off, the thrust mechanism is broken.
-
Improvements have been made to the mechanism that was used in G4 to improve its accuracy.
Academic text (1999) -
Peter LaPine gives an overview of the larynx, the major mechanism of voice production.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A powered device with moving parts that does a specific job
30
4.0
The systems and rules that make an organization or government work
4
3.2
A machine with moving parts that does a particular job
1
4.3
A group of connected parts that work together to do a job
Compounds
- Specialized
10
5.3
A mental way a person uses without thinking to reduce strong anxious feelings
- Specialized
4
4.1
A physical trait or behavior that helps animals and plants avoid harm
- Specialized
1
4.1
A group of parts that controls the direction of a vehicle like a car or bicycle
- Specialized
The mechanical part of a device that makes parts move, like in a piano or toy
- Specialized
A group of wheels with teeth that pass movement and force to make a machine work
- Specialized
A part that opens by itself to let out pressure and prevent an accident
- Specialized
A way a disease spreads from animals or people to other people
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
mechanism = machine (semi-transparent) = mechan + ism
The sense 'piece of machinery' is clearly related to 'machine', but 'mechan-' is a non-productive combining form from borrowing, so the formation is only partly transparent for learners.
Etymology
Mechanism comes from the old Greek root mechan-, meaning 'device' or 'machine', the same root as machine. So a mechanism can be a piece of machinery: parts that move together to do a certain job.