mechanical
[muh-kan-i-kuh l]
- having to do with machinery: a mechanical failure.
- being a machine; operated by machinery: a mechanical toy.
- caused by or derived from machinery: mechanical propulsion.
- using machine parts only.
- brought about by friction, abrasion, etc.: a mechanical bond between stones; mechanical erosion.
- pertaining to the design, use, understanding, etc., of tools and machinery: the mechanical trades; mechanical ability.
- acting or performed without spontaneity, spirit, individuality, etc.: a mechanical performance.
- habitual; routine; automatic: Practice that step until it becomes mechanical.
- belonging or pertaining to the subject matter of mechanics.
- pertaining to, or controlled or effected by, physical forces.
- (of a philosopher or philosophical theory) explaining phenomena as due to mechanical action or the material forces of the universe.
- subordinating the spiritual to the material; materialistic.
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- a mechanical object, part, device, etc.
- Printing. a sheet of stiff paper on which has been pasted artwork and type proofs for making a printing plate; paste-up.
- Obsolete. a skilled manual laborer, as a carpenter or other artisan.
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Origin of mechanical
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mechanical
Contemporary Examples
He once told me that he only vaguely understood “the mechanical aspects of sex” until he was in his early twenties.
Three of the six members of the group work on the channel full time, but Sep has a full time job as a mechanical engineer.
There is something about a firefight at night, something about the mechanical elegance of an M-60 machine gun.
As a result, the images can be much more detailed and the equipment less subject to mechanical problems.
These are, in mechanical terms, simple fixes; politically, a nigh-impossible slog.
Historical Examples
The secretary's voice was mechanical, without any trace of feeling.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
She shuddered, as with a mechanical movement she passed her fingers over her eyes.
The DreamEmile Zola
He went to bed with a mechanical deliberation, and slept instantly.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
The will-power is the same, but the mechanical contrivances for its transmission are wanting.
Life: Its True GenesisR. W. Wright
They are necessary sanctions; just as everything is necessary and may even be said to be mechanical.
Initiation into PhilosophyEmile Faguet
mechanical
- made, performed, or operated by or as if by a machine or machinerya mechanical process
- concerned with machines or machinery
- relating to or controlled or operated by physical forces
- of or concerned with mechanics
- (of a gesture, etc) automatic; lacking thought, feeling, etc
- philosophy accounting for phenomena by physically determining forces
- (of paper, such as newsprint) made from pulp that has been mechanically ground and contains impurities
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- printing another name for camera-ready copy
- archaic another word for mechanic (def. 2)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mechanical
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mechanical
(mĭ-kăn′ĭ-kəl)- Operated or produced by a mechanism or machine.
- Relating to, produced by, or dominated by physical forces.
- Interpreting and explaining the phenomena of the universe by referring to causally determined material forces; mechanistic.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.