Mechanism

Definition: Mechanism

Mechanism

Noun

1. The atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction; "he determined unique mechanisms for the photochemical reactions".

2. Technical aspects of doing something; "mechanisms of communication"; "the mechanics of prose style".

3. A natural object resembling a machine in structure and function; "the mechanism of the ear".

4. The doctrine that all phenomena can be explained in terms of physical or biological causes.

5. Device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "mechanism" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references)

Mechanical Engineering

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Mechanism

Instrument

Noun: machinery, mechanism, engineering.

Crosswords: Mechanism

No mechanism to break a tie. (Beast Wars: Transformers; writing credit: Bob Forward; Lawrence G. DiTillio)

Go on about the mechanism. (From Russia with Love; writing credit: Ian Fleming; Johanna Harwood)

The mechanism is Oh James, James Will you make love to me all the time in England (From Russia with Love; writing credit: Ian Fleming; Johanna Harwood)

Do you understand the mechanism, Robby (Forbidden Planet; writing credit: Irving Block; Allen Adler)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Guidebook to Mechanism in Organic Chemistry (6th Edition) (reference)

• Low Back Pain: Mechanism, Diagnosis and Treatment (reference)

• Pro/Mechanica Motion: Mechanism Design & Analysis Release 2001 (reference)

• Soul and Its Mechanism (reference)

• The Violin Explained: Components, Mechanism, and Sound (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Progress In Reaction Kinetics And Mechanism (reference)

• Microbial Drug Resistance : Mechanism Epidemiology And Disea (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Music

• Mechanism (reference)

• Roaring Mechanism (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• Okidata 2Nd & 3Rd Paper Tray Mechanism For Okipage 20 530 Sheets (reference)

• Okidata 2Nd Paper Tray Mechanism For All Ol400E/600E/ Series (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Shown is an illustration of the translocation of chromosomes, a mechanism that causes some cancers. See artwork: GA-17. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.

Note the struts and perforations of the individual scale. This helps to promote heightened aerodynamic lift during the insect's flight, as well as reduce the weight of the wing mechanism. Credit: CDC.

Activating acoustic release mechanism of BISP BISP - Benthic Interface Sensing Package On NOAA Ship PEIRCE. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Figure 45 (cont.) Detail of mechanism of Rung bathometer. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 46 (cont.) Shaeffer and Budenberg recording manometer, mechanism above, recording graph below. The instrument is within an enclosed case which is acted upon by water pressure. An amplification mechanism transmits the displacement to a pen which records the corresponding depth on a gridded sheet. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 46. Rung mounting designed by Captain George Rung, an assistant at the Meteorological Institute of Denmark. In 1883 he described a new mechanism for releasing the reversing thermometers by means of a messenger system. With this system numerous bottles mounted on a cable could be released at various depths in series. Details of the original testing of this mechanism are unknown. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 53. Richter mounting with helical reversing mechanism. This mounting is very similar to that in Figure 52 but was used in great depths. It was used by Franz Doflein off the coast of Japan in 1904. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 5. An Aime tide gauge. Aime's tidal studies began at the port of Algiers in 1838. Aime designed a prismatic lead tube supported by wood and provided with a filtering mechanism at its base that attenuated wave motion. A wood float connected to a counterweight by a silk cord, indicated the level of the sea on a reverse graduated scale which was calibrated on a calm day. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 30. Nansen releasing devices used for closing plankton nets. This device was invented by Fridthof Nansen about 1900 and apparently used aboard the MICHAEL SARS. A messenger activated this mechanism which in turn "strangled" the net by closing off its open end and capturing the fauna in the net. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 31. Aime messenger ca. 1843. The Frenchman Georges Aime was among the fir st to systematically employ the principle of a messenger in order to communicate with submerged instruments. The messenger was sent down the line and activated some form of opening or closing mechanism on the sampling instrument. Aime used only solid messengers which had to have the line or cable run through them. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

The scaffold is not a mere frame, the scaffold is not a machine, the scaffold is not an inert piece of mechanism made of wood, of iron, and of ropes

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Failures in this control mechanism result in incontinence. (references)

One mechanism is through its effects on structures deep in the brain. (references)

Convulsions may occur in children, but the mechanism has not been established. (references)

Business

This law established a mechanism to guarantee a minimum annual income to investors. (references)

Call Centers constitute an important mechanism to improve and expand customer relations. (references)

However, large corporations also make use of the leasing mechanism, typically for tax reasons. (references)

Children

Slovak Republic

The decree provides for sanctions but lacks a mechanism to enforce them. (references)

Ukraine

Children's protection groups have commended the law's stated purposes, but noted that it does not include an implementing mechanism for the large variety of services it proposes. (references)

Civil Liberties

Ukraine

However, the law did not prescribe an adjudication mechanism for this new body. (references)

Economic History

Luxembourg

The BCL is a component in the European Central Bank Mechanism (ECBM). (references)

Argentina

Industry-focused publications are an effective mechanism for advertising. (references)

Sri Lanka

The screening mechanism is non-discriminatory and for the most part routine. (references)

Human Rights

Algeria

There was no independent mechanism available to verify the Government's claim. (references)

Costa Rica

An effective mechanism for lodging and recording complaints of police misconduct exists. (references)

Tanzania

The committees have no mechanism to redress grievances or enforce decisions and are weak and ineffective. (references)

Indigenous People

Guatemala

In 1997, as called for by the Peace Accords, a Commission for the Definition of Sacred Places was created to discuss the mechanism for the administration, use, and preservation of places sacred to indigenous people. (references)

Political Economy

COLOMBIA

A withholding mechanism is applied to the first three, which has the effect of speeding up collection. (references)

ISRAEL

It retains a mechanism to extend long-term export credits, but the volumes involved are small, roughly $250 million. (references)

Political Rights

China

According to the Constitution, the NPC is the highest mechanism of state power. (references)

Angola

The Lusaka Protocol established the mechanism for returning the country to an electoral calendar. (references)

Belarus

Lukashenka repeatedly criticized the organization as a mechanism for recruiting spies and for training revolutionaries. (references)

Trade

Philippines

CMO 27-99 establishes an appeals mechanism. (references)

Colombia

As of July 2001, the mechanism is still applied. (references)

Israel

The FTAA also provides for a consultative mechanism between the two countries. (references)

Women

Dominica

The Department of Labor recruited a permanent counselor and established a crisis response mechanism to assist women who are victims of domestic violence. (references)

Hong Kong

To address the immediate problem of allocating school places in the fall, the Education Department established an interim appeal mechanism to review individual cases of alleged discrimination and agreed to come up with a new system by the end of the year. (references)

Worker Rights

Laos

Workplace committees are one mechanism used for resolving complaints. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "mechanism": access mechanism ♦ action mechanism ♦ biochemical mechanism ♦ bomb release mechanism ♦ brake mechanism ♦ chemical mechanism ♦ clockwork mechanism ♦ converging mechanism ♦ crank mechanism ♦ cross wheel mechanism ♦ defence mechanism ♦ defense mechanism ♦ dual exchange rate mechanism ♦ elevation mechanism ♦ escape mechanism ♦ feed mechanism ♦ feeding mechanism ♦ firing mechanism ♦ gear mechanism ♦ geneva cross mechanism ♦ Geneva mechanism ♦ hydraulic retracting mechanism ♦ jacquard mechanism ♦ link mechanism ♦ magnetic tape transport mechanism ♦ maltese cross mechanism ♦ mechanism of action ♦ open chain mechanism ♦ reversing mechanism ♦ rewind mechanism ♦ rocker gear mechanism ♦ rotating mechanism ♦ safety and arming mechanism ♦ steering mechanism ♦ striking mechanism ♦ tabulating mechanism ♦ Train of mechanism ♦ trigger mechanism. Additional references.

Beginning with "mechanism": mechanism-based, mechanism-type.

Ending with "mechanism": euro-mechanism, mystery-mechanism, pump-mechanism, servo-mechanism, spring-mechanism, swivel-mechanism.

Albanian

mekanizëm (action, clockwork, device, gear, machine, machinery, wheel, work), aparat (apparatus, device, machine, machinery, player). (various references)

Arabic 

‏تقنية (mechanics, mechanization, technicality, technique), ‏المذهب الآلي, ‏الآلات الميكانيكية. (various references)

Bulgarian 

строеж (conformation, construction, design, formation, grain, make up, making, pattern, set up, structure, texture, turn), устройство (appliance, composition, conformation, design, fabric, frame, grain, hang, organization, pattern, rig, set, set up, structure), уред (apparatus, contraption, device, engine, implement, instrument), система (frame, method, modus, plan, scheme, series), техника (engineering, science, technic, technics, technology), механически материализъм, механицизъм, механизъм (action, assembly, contrivance, device, gear, machine, machinery, motion, movement, works), апарат (apparatus, device, instrument, machine, set). (various references)

Chinese 

机制 (machine-made), 機關 (organ). (various references)

Czech

mechanismus (clockwork, contrivance). (various references)

Danish

mekanisme. (various references)

Dutch

mechanisme (action), inrichting (accommodation, accoutrement, accoutrements, adjustment, apparatus, arrangement, device, equipment, institute, set). (various references)

Farsi 

مکانیزم , ماشین (Apparatus, Engine, Gin, Machine, Mill, Motor, Plant), ساختمان (Anatomy, Construction, Frame, Make, Skeleton, Stance, Structure), اجزاء متشکله چیزی , اجزاء وعوامل مکانیکی , دستگاه (Apparatus, Appurtenance, Machine, Machinery, Plant, Set, System). (various references)

Finnish

koneisto (machinery, works). (various references)

French

mécanisme (mechanics), dispositif. (various references)

German

Mechanismus (machinery, mechanics, mechanisms), getriebe (bustle, drive, gear, gear unit, gearbox, gearboxs, gearing, gears, hurly burly, movement, transmission, works). (various references)

Greek 

μηχανισμός (fixture, temperature operated switch mechanism). (various references)

Hebrew 

מנגנון (apparatus, gear, machinery, organism, personnel, staff). (various references)

Hungarian

gépezet (device, enginery, machine, machinery), szerkezet (architecture, arrester, arrestor, build, conformation, construction, contraption, contrivance, device, dodge, fabric, framework, gear, gimmick, hanger, hitch, layout, machinery, movement, pulling device, rig, sealing, set-up, structure, substructure, texture), mechanizmus (action, machinery, train). (various references)

Indonesian

cara kerja (operational). (various references)

Italian

meccanismo (apparatus, appliance, device, gear, machinery, unit, work, working), congegno (contraption, contrivance, device, gadget, gear). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

絡繰り (device, dodge, trick), メール交換 (10^6, correspondence, exchange of letters, mace, mail, mail order, mailer, mailing, mailing list, main, main amp, main bank, main course, main culture, main event, main gate, main pole, main stand, main street, main table, main title, mainframe, main-memory, make, make-up, mate, mechanic, mechanical, mechanical automation, mechanics, mechatronics, mega-, mega trend, megacycle, megaton, MT), 機関 (engine, facility, organ), 機序 , 機構 (organization), 機械論 , 機械　 (machine), 機械 (machine), 仕掛け (challenge, commencement, device, gadget, half finished, scale, set up, trick), 仕掛 (challenge, commencement, device, gadget, half finished, scale, set up, trick). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

メカニズム , メカ (mechanic, mechanical), きかいろん, きかい (chance, instrument, machine, mysterious, opportunity, outrageous, shogi circles, strange, the goworld, weird, wonderful), きかん (already published, boiler, engine, facility, feedback, flagship, gauge, hunger and cold, instrument, key, mainstay, mirror, nucleus, organ, paragon, pattern, period, quarterly, repatriation, return, returning to one'sship, term, trachea, wonderful sight, your letter), しかけ (challenge, commencement, device, gadget, half finished, scale, set up, trick), きこう (armor, armour, breath control, breathing exercise, calling at aport, chi kung, cleverness, climate, contribution, contrivance, drafting, eccentricities, homeward voyage or flight, horseback riding, organization, qigong, remarkable effect, returning to port, returning to school, season, setting to work, spirit cultivation, stoma, stopping at a port, traveller's journal, trick, you), きじょ (demoness, lady, ogress, she-devil, witch, you), からくり (device, dodge, trick). (various references)

Korean 

기계장치 (machinery). (various references)

Pig Latin

echanismmay.(various references)

Portuguese

mecanismo (action, apparatus, engine, gear, machine, machinery, motion). (various references)

Romanian

mecanism (action, contrivance, device, engine, gear, gearing, gimmick, machine, machinery, motion, technique, work), maşinãrie (enginery, machinery, plant, work), tehnicã (technicalities, technicals, technics, technique), aparat (apparatus, appliance, contrivance, device, gear, machine, set, staff). (various references)

Russian 

механизм (assembly, device, gear, machine, machinery, motion). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

mehanizam (works). (various references)

Spanish

mecanismo (action, device, gear, machinery, motion, movement, works), dispositivo (appliance, artifice, device, dodge, force, gadget). (various references)

Swedish

mekanism (action, gear, motion, movement). (various references)

Thai

ชิ้นส่วนของเครื่องจักร, กลไก (gismo, gizmo). (various references)

Turkish

mekanizma (contraption, fitting, machine, machinery), mekanikçilik, teknik (practice, science, style, technic, technical, technics, technique, wrinkle), işleyiş (operation, treatment). (various references)

Turkmen 

mehanizm (r). (various references)

Ukrainian

техніка (engineering, technics, technique, technology), механізм (action, apparatus, arrangement, gear, machine, works). (various references)

Vietnamese 

máy móc (automatic, automatical, enginery, machine, machinery), cơ cấu (frame, gear). (various references)

Welsh

peirianwaith. (various references)

machinationes. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "mechanism": mechanisms. (additional references)

Words ending with "mechanism": servomechanism. (additional references)

Words containing "mechanism": servomechanisms. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Mechanism" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: marhaenism, mechacism, Mechai, mechanise, mechanisim, mechaniz, Mechanus, mechasism, mechinism, mechnism, mechons, messianism, methonium. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: chammies, machines.

-2 letters: ammines, amnesic, chaines, chamise, chemism, cinemas, haemins, machine, maihems, manches, misname.

-3 letters: amices, amines, ammine, anemic, animes, ashmen, camise, casein, chaine, chains, chaise, chiasm, chimes, chinas, chines, cinema, encash, haemic, haemin, hances, hemins, iceman, immane, immesh, incase, inches, inmesh, inseam, maches, maihem, mamies, manche, manics, mashie, mensch, mesian, miches, minces.

+1 letter: mechanisms.

+3 letters: hemodynamics, impeachments.

+4 letters: commandership.

+5 letters: accomplishment, commanderships, decamethoniums, mathematicians, servomechanism, thermodynamics.