mechanical
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.
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.
Origin of mechanical
1Other words from mechanical
- me·chan·i·cal·ly, adverb
- me·chan·i·cal·ness, me·chan·i·cal·i·ty, noun
- non·me·chan·i·cal, adjective
- non·me·chan·i·cal·ly, adverb
- non·me·chan·i·cal·ness, noun
- qua·si-me·chan·i·cal, adjective
- qua·si-me·chan·i·cal·ly, adverb
- sem·i·me·chan·i·cal, adjective
- su·per·me·chan·i·cal, adjective
- su·per·me·chan·i·cal·ly, adverb
- un·me·chan·i·cal, adjective
- un·me·chan·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mechanical in a sentence
The federal legislation also would prohibit the use of mechanical and chemical restraints.
National Ban on School Use of Seclusion and Restraint of Students Introduced in Congress | by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune | November 19, 2020 | ProPublicaPeale was apprenticed to a saddler at age 13, but spent almost as much time tinkering with mechanical devices of all sorts as he did saddling.
When Science Was the Best Show in America - Issue 93: Forerunners | Lee Alan Dugatkin | November 18, 2020 | NautilusHe is a mechanical engineer who has had a long career at Dassault.
Leveraging collective intelligence and AI to benefit society | Jason Sparapani | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewJust months before mechanical engineering student Desmond Koney was due to graduate from college, his father died suddenly, leaving Desmond a struggling pineapple farm on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana’s capital.
It’s jam-packed with over 17,000 sensors tuned to mechanical forces alone, not to mention sensors for temperature and pain.
“Keeping in contact with those people, and mechanically getting them to the trial, those are the hard parts,” Risner said.
What about allowing a school to manually or "mechanically" restrain students?
Bill Maher Finds the Worst Congressman in America | Ana Marie Cox | October 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“First we targeted the tanks and the jeeps with IEDs,” he said mechanically, as if recalling a combat briefing.
All this work serves to paint the actors and the action as very mechanically convincing.
This process can be mechanically assisted by deep belly massages and, yes, colonic irrigation.
He did not once look back at her; his face seemed full of thought, his hands acting as it were mechanically.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonNow and then he touched one with his long and sallow fingers, lifted its cover, then let it drop mechanically.
Bella Donna | Robert Hichens"But—but—oh, tell me," and then he became silent and looked away, raising the sandwich to his mouth mechanically.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxIt is thus obvious that the drainage of the soil modifies its properties both mechanically and chemically.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry | Thomas AndersonEdna walked on down to the beach rather mechanically, not noticing anything special except that the sun was hot.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
British Dictionary definitions for mechanical
/ (mɪˈkænɪkəl) /
made, performed, or operated by or as if by a machine or machinery: a 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
printing another name for camera-ready copy
archaic another word for mechanic (def. 2)
Derived forms of mechanical
- mechanicalism, noun
- mechanically, adverb
- mechanicalness, noun
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
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