mechanisms
noun
Form of mechanism , plural of mechanism.
Simple meaning
Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mehkuhnihzuhmzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɛkənɪzəmz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
plural of mechanismwithin a machine or machinery
Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
plural of mechanism
Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.
plural of mechanism
A group of entities, such as objects, that interact together.
plural of mechanism
Any process of, or system designed to manage useful energy conversion.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (within a machine or machinery) Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
Used this way, mechanisms is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.