mechanism

noun

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mech·a·nism | \ ˈme-kə-ˌni-zəm

Definition of mechanism

1a : a piece of machinery (see machinery sense 1) The camera's shutter mechanism is broken.

b : a process, technique, or system for achieving a result the mechanisms of peace— F. D. Roosevelt

2 : mechanical operation or action : working sense 2 he acknowledges nothing besides matter and motion; so that all must be performed either by mechanism or by accident— Richard Bentley

3 : a doctrine that holds natural processes (as of life) to be mechanically determined and capable of complete explanation by the laws of physics and chemistry

4 : the fundamental processes involved in or responsible for an action, reaction, or other natural phenomenon meteorologists believe that this pressure jump is the mechanism responsible for storms and tornadoes — Think — compare defense mechanism

Examples of mechanism in a Sentence

The camera's shutter mechanism is broken. Scientists are studying the body's mechanisms for controlling weight. There is no mechanism in place for enforcing the new law. a legal mechanism to prevent lobbyists from exerting unfair influence psychological mechanisms for dealing with a tragic loss

Recent Examples on the Web Easy to open and close legs, even with their locking mechanism. — Sian Babish, chicagotribune.com, "The best indoor folding table," 29 Mar. 2021 The technicians identified the unexploded ordnance as a live cannonball round used during the Civil War and determined its fusing mechanism was still intact, the state's Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) said in a statement on Tuesday. — Alaa Elassar, CNN, "Bomb squad safely detonates Civil War cannonball found in Maryland," 28 Mar. 2021 Her coping mechanism involves going to bars, feigning drunkenness, and waiting for opportunistic men to take her home. — Radhika Seth, Vogue, "Carey Mulligan and Emerald Fennell on Promising Young Woman and the Concept Female Bodies as ‘Something to Be Won’," 26 Mar. 2021 Simply connect your Twitter account to your deletion mechanism of choice and follow its instructions. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "You Should Probably Delete All of Your Old Tweets. Here's How to Do It.," 17 Mar. 2021 The flee-or-fight response was their main mechanism to achieve their biological mandates. — Luis E. Romero, Forbes, "Jurassic Leadership And The Dinosaur Within Us," 25 Feb. 2021 The body produces interferon beta to fight off viral infections, but the new coronavirus appears to suppress production of the proteins as part of its mechanism to evade patients' immune responses, BBC News reports. — TheWeek, "U.K. begins large trial of new COVID-19 treatment inhaled into the lungs," 13 Jan. 2021 But when these clunky needles were considered cutting-edge science, mosquitoes had already been plunging their blood-sucking mechanism into animals for millions of years. — Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, "Mosquitoes Stab Animals with a Syringelike Proboscis," 8 Jan. 2021 Sparking a participatory dynamic with the right message and delivery mechanism is essential. — Aaron Fletcher, Rolling Stone, "How Brands Can Engage Gamers by Understanding the Esports Community," 11 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mechanism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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