noun
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the mechanism of a clock
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any similar mechanism, as in a wind-up toy
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with complete regularity and precision
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of clockwork
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The busy operation has to run like clockwork, as about 200 lorries will arrive to collect products every day.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
A wrist upgrade never hurts, especially if he’s the type who doesn’t always run like clockwork.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Even though the chief sniffer, The Dog is no longer here, bitter melons still appear like clockwork reminding me that home, and my own, isn’t, aren’t too far away.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
I’m not sure what would provoke anyone to tune in, but like clockwork, the viewership billowed to the thousands.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
That visitors often stop before they depart Le Cirque des Rêves to stare at the clockwork wonder that sits by the gates.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
In these clocks, atoms are held in place by laser beams arranged in a lattice and serve as extremely precise "clockworks."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 26, 2026
When the Victorian-era clockworks began to tick in 1859, it was the largest, most accurate four-sided striking timepiece in the world.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022
In the meantime, craftsmen from Smith Bell and Clock Service removed the clockworks, including the clock’s four faces and dials and are storing them while the case is restored.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2020
The rapid-fire labor-intensiveness of Mr. Marclay’s effort also emphasizes the laborious, collaborative nature of films — that they are themselves elaborate clockworks of actors, directors, cinematographers, set and costume designers and makeup artists.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2011
Instead of placing Earth at the center of the universe filled with epicycle-filled clockworks, Copernicus imagined that the sun was at the center instead, and the planets moved in simple circles.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
