mechanism

[mek-uh-niz-uh m]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mechanism 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 Newtonian 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.

Nearby words

Origin of mechanism

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mechanisms

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 mechanisms

mechanism

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

Word Origin and History for mechanisms

mechanism

1660s, from Modern Latin mechanismus, from Greek mekhane "machine, instrument" (see machine (n.)).

Medicine definitions for mechanisms

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.

mechanism

noun

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Origin of mechanism

Examples from the Web for mechanisms

mechanism

noun

mechanism

mechanism

n.