escapement

American  

[ih-skeyp-muhnt] / ɪˈskeɪp mənt /

noun

1. Horology. the portion of a watch or clock that measures beats and controls the speed of the going train.

2. a mechanism for regulating the motion of a typewriter carriage, consisting of pawls and a toothed wheel or rack.

3. a mechanism in a piano that causes a hammer to fall back into rest position immediately after striking a string.

4. an act of escaping.

5. Archaic. a way of escape; outlet.

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escapement British  

/ ɪˈskeɪpmənt /

noun

1. horology a mechanism consisting of an escape wheel and anchor, used in timepieces to provide periodic impulses to the pendulum or balance

2. any similar mechanism that regulates movement, usually consisting of toothed wheels engaged by rocking levers

3. (in a piano) the mechanism that allows the hammer to clear the string after striking, so that the string can vibrate

4. an overflow channel

5. rare an act or means of escaping

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Etymology

Origin of escapement

1730–40; escape + -ment (calque of French échappement

Example Sentences

But it contained neither the tourbillon cage that surrounds the watch’s oscillating escapement nor the 30 percent additional power required to fuel it.

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2024

Mere weeks after the escapement, Cooke’s salmon were found as far south as Tacoma and as far north as Vancouver Island.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 22, 2023

With the new escapement the clock now keeps excellent time, requiring only a minute or two of adjustment each month.

From Washington Times • Jan. 9, 2017

For instance, the new federal rules for the Gulf of Mexico require permit holders to report to the government only “major escapement events”, defined as 10% or more of cultured fish escaping from a pen.

From The Guardian • Sep. 25, 2016

Even after this, he thought up an idea for an escapement for a pendulum clock, which he described to his son Vincenzio, who actually built such a clock after Galileo died.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin