system
Pluralsystems
- 1A group of parts that work together as one whole.
Like the parts of a clock that all work together to tell the time.
A bicycle is a simple system of pedals, gears, a chain, and wheels.
Our whole heating system broke down during the cold snap.
Similarstructure, arrangement, organization, complex
Note
- 2The hardware and software that work together to run a computer.
Like all the parts inside a phone that team up to run your apps.
I had to restart the system after the update failed.
A virus can slow your whole system down.
UsagePeople say the system is down.
Note
- 3An organized way of doing something, with rules or steps to follow.
Like having one special box for each kind of toy so you always know where to look.
She uses a simple system to keep track of her bills.
Our filing system makes it easy to find old letters.
UsageSay a system for sorting mail.
- 4A group of body parts that work together to do one job.
Like a team where each player has a job, and together they win the game.
The nervous system sends messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
Doctors checked how well her nervous system was working.
UsageSay the nervous system or the immune system.
Note
- 5Your whole body, or body and mind, especially when food, drugs, or a shock has an effect on it.
Drink lots of water to help clear the medicine out of your system.
Eating too much candy before bed can upset a child's system.
UsageSay in your system or a shock to the system.
Similarbody
Note
- 6The way a society organizes its economy and government.
Like the set of rules that decides who owns what in a whole country.
Many countries changed their economic system after the war.
Under the old system, the state owned every factory.
UsageSay the feudal system or a market system.
Similarorder
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- 7Two or more space objects held together by gravity.
Like balls on strings swinging around each other instead of flying apart.
Our solar system has eight planets orbiting the Sun.
Astronomers found a system where two stars circle each other.
UsageSay the solar system.
Note
- 8A complete, organized set of ideas or beliefs.
Like a building where every idea is a brick that holds the others up.
His whole system of thought rested on a single idea.
Students study each philosopher's system of beliefs.
UsageOften used with of: a system of beliefs, a system of thought.
Similarstructure
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Less common meanings
- 9The people in power and their rules, seen as unfair to ordinary people.
Like a game where the rules always seem to help the same players win.
He felt the system was rigged against people like him.
They spent years fighting the system and getting nowhere.
UsageUsed with the: the system, against the system.
Similarestablishment
Note
- 10A group of equations that you solve together at the same time.
Like two clues you must use together to find one answer.
We solved the system to find both unknown numbers.
This system has two equations and two variables.
UsageSay solve a system of equations.
Note
- 11A group of music staves joined by a line at the left, showing parts that are played together.
Like reading two lines of a song side by side at the same time.
In piano music, each system usually has one staff for each hand.
Each system on the page held parts for several instruments.
Note
- 12The group of separate identities sharing one person's body, or the whole person who contains them.
Practice
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Origin
The word came from Late Latin systēma, which came from Ancient Greek sústēma, meaning an organized whole made of several parts. It reached English partly through Middle French.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- English system derives from Late Latin systēma. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin systēma was borrowed from Ancient Greek sústēma. en.wiktionary.org
- The Greek word meant an organized whole composed of several parts. en.wiktionary.org
- English borrowed the word partly through Middle French. en.wiktionary.org