clockwork

noun

clock·​work ˈkläk-ˌwərk 

1

: the inner workings of something

2

: the machinery (such as springs and a train of gears) that run a clock

also : a similar mechanism running a mechanical device (such as a toy)

3

: the precision, regularity, or absence of variation associated with a clock or clockwork

a clockwork operation

—used in the phrase like clockwork to describe something that happens or works in a regular and exact way

This type of star has a wonderful property: Its brightness waxes and wanes like clockwork…

—Ron Cowen

If everything went like clockwork, it would have taken a year to get items in stores.

—Brooks Barnes

Examples of clockwork in a Sentence

the clockwork inside a mechanical toy soldier

Recent Examples on the Web

Old timers can recall when clockwork storms pounded in the summer and drizzled in the winter. —Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026

As the three months are counted down in a clockwork way (at one point, the film simply leaps from the 12-week mark to the six-week mark), there’s little detailed feeling for how the designs evolve, for what’s at stake, or for the personalities of Jacobs’ associates. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Mar. 2026

Once enough of the hormone has accumulated and the gametes have fully developed, the jellies spawn simultaneously — roughly two hours after sunset, like clockwork. —Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026

Datebook Picks For one, a senior on the team gets pregnant every year like clockwork, and no one, even a star like April (Camille Collaço), can play while pregnant. —Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clockwork

• artwork
• beadwork
• berserk
• breastwork
• brickwork
• brushwork
• casework
• classwork
• coursework
• ductwork
• earthwork
• falsework

Kids Definition

clockwork

noun

clock·​work ˈkläk-ˌwərk 

: machinery (as in a mechanical toy) containing a set of small cogwheels