mechanism

[ mek-uh-niz-uhm ]

/ ˈmɛk əˌnɪz əm /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mechanism

noun

an assembly of moving parts performing a complete functional motion, often being part of a large machine; linkage.

the agency or means by which an effect is produced or a purpose is accomplished.

machinery or mechanical appliances in general.

the structure or arrangement of parts of a machine or similar device, or of anything analogous.

the mechanical part of something; any mechanical device: the mechanism of a clock.

routine methods or procedures; mechanics: the mechanism of government.

mechanical execution, as in painting or music; technique.

the theory that everything in the universe is produced by matter in motion; materialism.Compare dynamism (def. 1), vitalism (def. 1).

Philosophy.

the view that all natural processes are explicable in terms of classical mechanics.
the view that all biological processes may be described in physicochemical terms.

Psychoanalysis. the habitual operation and interaction of psychological forces within an individual that assist in interpreting or dealing with the physical or psychological environment.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.

Question 1 of 9

You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?

To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of mechanism

1655–65; <New Latin mēchanismus; Late Latin mēchanisma a contrivance <Greek mēchan(ḗ)machine + New Latin -ismus, Late Latin -isma -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM mechanism

mech·a·nis·mic, adjectivean·ti·mech·an·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for mechanism

Other candidates, like the one from the American firm Novavax, use a protein-based mechanism.
Will a Covid-19 Vaccine Change the Future of Medical Research? (Ep. 430)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 27, 2020|Freakonomics
That defense mechanism may have served its purpose for many years, but he may have realized that it no longer serves him, or the world.
Are You Yoda or Darth Vader? - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Brian Gallagher|August 26, 2020|Nautilus
It took years for Moderna’s scientists to create a mechanism to deliver this genetic material effectively into human cells.
Tackling covid|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
One of the things that we really have to do is to look at production mechanisms or production methods that actually cost much less energy.
Is Economic Growth the Wrong Goal? (Ep. 429)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 13, 2020|Freakonomics

A critical set of these mechanisms involve genetic exchange.
How Life Could Continue to Evolve - Issue 88: Love & Sex|Caleb Scharf|August 12, 2020|Nautilus
It is entirely possible for some of these mechanisms to be functioning while others have ceased.
What It’s Like to Wake Up Dead|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Part of the alias and the disguise is masking racism with the mechanisms of large, diverse institutions.
How We Got to Ferguson—a Reading List|David Masciotra|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That said, the mechanisms we have to pay for higher education are seriously broken.
The Exciting-but-Depressing Obama-Tumblr Student-Loan Summit|Kelly Williams Brown|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But more research and further inquiry are critical to better understand the mechanisms of brain and spinal injury.
Electric Stimulation and Rigorous Physical Therapy Show Promise for Paralysis Patients|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|April 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a no brainer which of the two mechanisms I would view the film through.
Scarlett Johansson is an Alien Seductress in ‘Under the Skin’|Jimmy So|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We were diving parallel with the gravity-ray now, hardly a mile from it, diving for the mechanisms of its source.
Wandl the Invader|Raymond King Cummings
And an instant later there were vacant rocks where the little cluster of men and mechanisms had been.
Wandl the Invader|Raymond King Cummings
Thicourt did something quickly with the levers and buttons of the mechanisms in the room.
The Man Who Saw the Future|Edmond Hamilton
Somehow he had known that would be true, that it wasn't just his own mechanisms failing.
Progress Report|Mark Clifton
Dr. Mackenzie, who says there are but two mechanisms, the long and short reed, says the falsetto is produced by the short reed.
The Head Voice and Other Problems|D. A. Clippinger

British Dictionary definitions for mechanism

mechanism

/ (ˈmɛkəˌnɪzəm) /

noun

a system or structure of moving parts that performs some function, esp in a machine

something resembling a machine in the arrangement and working of its partsthe mechanism of the ear

any form of mechanical device or any part of such a device

a process or technique, esp of executionthe mechanism of novel writing

philosophy

the doctrine that human action can be explained in purely physical terms, whether mechanical or biological
the explanation of phenomena in causal rather than teleological or essentialist terms
the view that the task of science is to seek such explanations
strict determinismCompare dynamism, vitalism

psychoanal

the ways in which psychological forces interact and operate
a structure having an influence on the behaviour of a person, such as a defence mechanism

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

Medical definitions for mechanism

mechanism

[ mĕk′ə-nĭz′əm ]

n.

A machine or mechanical appliance.

The arrangement of connected parts in a machine.

A system of parts that operate or interact like those of a machine.

An instrument or a process by which something is done or comes into being.

The involuntary and consistent response of an organism to a given stimulus.

A usually unconscious mental and emotional pattern that dominates behavior in a given situation or environment.

The sequence of steps in a chemical reaction.

The philosophical doctrine that all natural phenomena are explicable by material causes and mechanical principles.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

mechanism

noun

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Origin of mechanism

OTHER WORDS FROM mechanism

Example sentences from the Web for mechanism

British Dictionary definitions for mechanism

noun

Medical definitions for mechanism

n.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

mechanism

noun

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Origin of mechanism

OTHER WORDS FROM mechanism

Words related to mechanism

Example sentences from the Web for mechanism

British Dictionary definitions for mechanism

noun

Medical definitions for mechanism

n.