MECHANISM Definition & Meaning

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mechanism

[ mek-uh-niz-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.
1. the view that all natural processes are explicable in terms of classical mechanics.
2. 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.

mechanism

/ ˈ��ɛ��əˌ��ɪ��ə�� /

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 parts
the mechanism of the ear
any form of mechanical device or any part of such a device
a process or technique, esp of execution
the mechanism of novel writing
philosophy
1. the doctrine that human action can be explained in purely physical terms, whether mechanical or biological
2. the explanation of phenomena in causal rather than teleological or essentialist terms
3. the view that the task of science is to seek such explanations
4. strict determinism Compare dynamism vitalism
psychoanal
1. the ways in which psychological forces interact and operate
2. a structure having an influence on the behaviour of a person, such as a defence mechanism

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��𳦳�a·�Ծ��m�� adjective
��t��·��𳦳�a��·�� noun

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of mechanism¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from New Latin ��ŧ��󲹲Ծ��ܲ�; Late Latin ��ŧ��󲹲Ծ�� “contrivance,” from Greek ��ŧ��󲹲�(ḗ) machine + New Latin -ismus, Late Latin -isma -ism

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“Now, they are bringing partisan politics directly to the cafeteria table, threatening our children’s food security as a mechanism to force states to comply with a national ideological agenda. This is flat-out wrong.”

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The stock market, after all, is a mechanism to gauge future expectations.

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"This means that the flies have a control mechanism that allows them to get all the benefits of alcohol consumption without risking alcohol intoxication," lead author Ian Keesey, of the University of Nebraska, said.

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Conference on Trade and Development in its 2015 report, which described the tunnels as “yet another mechanism to respond to the economic blockade of Gaza,” one that prevented the complete collapse of its economy.

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That is precisely the psychological mechanism behind Russia’s “Russkiy mir,” where people yearn for a strongman to protect the imagined moral and national order.

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