# mechanism

Pronunciation: say "MEK-uh-ni-zuhm" US/UK /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/, AUS /ˈmek.ə.nɪ.zəm/

## Noun

1. A mechanical means of converting or controlling motion, or of transmitting or controlling power.
   - Simple: A set of moving parts that controls movement or power inside a machine.
   - _The lifting mechanism in the crane transfers power from the motor to the cable._
   - _Designers simplified the steering mechanism to reduce friction._
2. A mental, physical, or chemical process by which something is brought about.
   - Simple: A process in the mind, body, or in chemistry by which something happens.
   - _Scientists studied the mechanism by which the drug lowers blood pressure._
   - _Memory relies on a complex mechanism involving several regions of the brain._
3. An assembly of interacting machine parts, such as gears, cams, links, belts, and chains, or mechanical elements that perform logic.
   - Simple: A set of parts like gears, belts, and chains that work together.
   - _The watchmaker assembled the mechanism from dozens of tiny gears and springs._
   - _This printing press relies on a mechanism of cams and belts to feed paper._
4. Any system of objects or other entities that interact with one another.
   - Simple: A group of things that work or interact together.
   - _Economists treat the grain market as a mechanism in which thousands of buyers and sellers interact to set the daily price._
   - _Researchers described the coral reef as a single mechanism of interdependent organisms._
5. A process or system designed to manage the conversion of energy into useful work.
   - Simple: A system or process made to turn energy into useful work.
   - _The turbine serves as a mechanism that converts the energy of falling water into electricity._
   - _Each cell uses a biochemical mechanism to release energy from glucose._
6. The philosophical view that all natural phenomena can be explained entirely by physical causes.
   - Simple: The idea that everything in nature can be explained by physical causes.
   - _Mechanism holds that living organisms operate according to the same physical laws as machines._
   - _Critics of mechanism argue that consciousness cannot be reduced to physical processes alone._

## Origin

A learned borrowing from New Latin mechanismus, which derives from the Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, "machine").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mechanism (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).