mechanical man
1
7.5
- noun
- /məˈkænɪkəl mæn/
- Archaic
:
hombre mecánico
- Hugo and his father sit inside their cozy home, admiring a mechanical man.
Examples
-
"It was the idea of this mechanical man and his heartbeat," Fiedel would later explain.
Blog text (14) -
For example, think about three still images from Hugo Cabret of Hugo's automaton, but, of course, in the film you literally move into the shot, with music adding to the suspense and mystery of the mechanical man.
Academic text (2014) -
The robots we meet in the next few decades will not look like mechanical men, the classic science fictional image.
Fiction book (2002) -
"Is something wrong with your mechanical man, Maggie?" he inquired as he took another step back.
Fiction book (2001) -
My theory is that the mechanical man would make contact regularly with many foul balls, hitting a good amount of home runs, but also would strike out very often, despite the fact that it was never once fooled by the deception of the pitcher optically.
Blog text (19) -
The mechanical man finished closing the last button of his jacket, then strode forward and held out his hand.
-
"Is something wrong with your mechanical man, Maggie?" he inquired as he took another step back.
Synonyms
454
2.6
A machine that people can program to do jobs automatically
57
6.8
A machine that looks and acts like a human
26
7.6
A machine that can move and do tasks on its own
21
7.2
A machine that looks and moves like a person
11
9.4
A machine made to look and act like a human
8
9.1
A robot that looks and acts like a real person
4
7.9
A machine that moves on its own and acts like a person or animal
1
9.3
A being part human and part robot that looks or acts like a man
A machine or robot that works by itself to do tasks, often in future stories
How Human-Like
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an automaton or robot resembling a human' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'mechanical' (machine-like, automatic) + 'man' (human). This adjective+noun pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Mechanical man may come from old clockwork figures made by craftsmen who built metal or wooden figures with gears so they could move like a person. The words mechanical and man give the clear image of a 'machine' acting like a 'person', so today the phrase means a robot or machine that looks or works like a human.