mechanism

[ mek-uh-niz-uhm ]

/ ˈmɛk əˌnɪz əm /

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See synonyms for: mechanism / mechanisms on Thesaurus.com

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.

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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. 2023

How to use mechanism in a sentence

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
The book rejects capitalism, market mechanisms, and even, seemingly, profit motives and corporate governance.
Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’ Will Change Nothing|Michael Signer|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The White House argues that most of the mechanisms already are in place to ensure these goals are carried out.
Obama and Xi Jinping Say They’ll Work Together to Save Environment|Ben Leung|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this way, certain cognitive mechanisms can act like a hammer too eager for nails.
Why Are Millennials Unfriending Organized Religion?|Vlad Chituc|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Simply tap on your own screen, and haptic feedback mechanisms in the watch will transfer the gesture to the wrist of your friend.
Bigger, Bolder, and Better Than Ever: Steve Jobs Would Be Proud of Today's Apple|Kyle Chayka|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The muscular mechanisms used by the singer and speaker are of the skeletal variety.
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking|Wesley Mills
Such delicate mechanisms can also be easily injured or hopelessly ruined; and, as a matter of fact, this is being done daily.
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking|Wesley Mills
The lower we descend in the animal scale the more simple are the mechanisms by which results are attained.
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking|Wesley Mills
In each case the ideas are converted into performance, the results attained, by the exercise of neuro-muscular mechanisms.
Voice Production in Singing and Speaking|Wesley Mills
The Machine is very expensive to maintain in operation, and so is every one of the little mechanisms of which it is composed.
Invention|Bradley A. Fiske

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

mechanism

Origin of mechanism

OTHER WORDS FROM mechanism

Words related to mechanism

How to use mechanism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mechanism