mechanismmech‧a‧nis‧m /ˈmekənɪzəm/ ●●○ AWL noun [countable] 
the brake mechanism a clock mechanism2a system that is intended to achieve something or deal with a problemmechanism for (doing) something existing mechanisms for decision-makingmechanism to do something The Army has set up mechanisms to help jobless ex-soldiers get work. → exchange rate mechanism3a system or a way of behaving that helps a living thing to avoid or protect itself from something difficult or dangerousdefence/control/survival mechanism When a person is ill, the body’s natural defence mechanisms come into operation.4the way that something worksmechanism of the mechanism of the brain
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Many schools have a mechanism which allows parents to inspect classroom materials.
- the mechanism of the brain
- The mechanism that raises the bridge was not working correctly.
- The free market system is an imperfect mechanism for achieving full employment.
- The garlic press uses a screw mechanism to squeeze out juice and pulp.
- The locking mechanism on the car door is broken.
- The peace plan includes a mechanism to share power between all four parties.
- Unfortunately, the water had damaged the firing mechanism inside the rocket.
- It is quite possible that all three mechanisms might operate.
- The company has tested the mechanism on piglets reared by 300 sows on a farm near York.
- The Drosophila studies have not solved the memory problem, but they have certainly supplemented our understanding of its biochemical mechanisms.
- The guilds were weak and unassertive, functioning mainly as a mechanism for economic regulation.
- The parties can also provide mechanisms for facilitating cooperation and regulating conflict among different parties.
- The point illustrates the true mechanisms underlying the onset of cancer.
- Walkup's argument: Well-planned development can pay for itself, without the burden of impact fees and similar financing mechanisms.
Longman Language Activatora machine
a piece of equipment that does a particular type of work, either in your home or in a factory, office etc, using power from an engine or from electricity: · a machine that fills beer bottles· One cable was damaged, which was causing the machine to shut down frequently.sewing/washing/fax machine (=a machine for sewing, washing clothes etc): · There is a washing machine in the basement of the building.operate a machine (=make it work): · It's possible to operate the machines by remote control.by machine: · Ice could be made in huge quantities by machine.
a piece of equipment that has been cleverly designed to do a particular job, for example one that makes measurements, records sounds or movements, or controls the operation of a machine: · An EEG is a device that records electrical activity in the brain.device for: · a device for controlling temperature· The farmers there still use the 'Archimedes Screw', an ancient device for raising water from a lake or well.listening/measuring device: · They were both aware that there might be listening devices hidden in the room.safety device: · The National Association for Elevator Safety says that most elevators have safety devices that prevent free-falls.
a machine that is controlled by a computer and can do some of the complicated jobs that humans do, such as making things in a factory: · With the flick of a switch, the robot picks up the bomb, carries it away from buildings, and blows it up.· One astronaut used the space shuttle's robot arm to pick up an 1800-pound satellite from space.
formal a piece of electrical equipment used in your home, such as a washing machine: · People are spending more of their income on goods such as cars and appliances.domestic/household/home appliance: · To make it easier to return any unwanted purchases, save the original packaging, especially for electronics and household appliances.
machines in general, especially the large machines used in factories or on farms: heavy machinery: · The package says you shouldn't drive or operate heavy machinery after taking these pills.industrial/farm machinery: · Industrial machinery and electronic equipment lead the nation's export list.· a company that manufactures farm machinery
a piece of equipment that is designed to do a particular job inside a machine or larger piece of equipment: · The mechanism that raises the bridge was not working correctly.· Unfortunately, the water had damaged the firing mechanism inside the rocket.· The garlic press uses a screw mechanism to squeeze out juice and pulp.
a machine that seems strange and awkward-looking and has lots of pieces joined together in a strange way: · Early cameras were large and expensive contraptions.· By demonstrating his floating contraption - part surfboard, part kayak and part sailboard - Halfon hopes to create a tide of attention.
to try to make someone feel sorry for you the way that something is organized, following fixed rules and methods, in order to provide a service or achieve an aim: · We're going to have to make some changes - this system just doesn't work.· Most teachers are opposed to recent changes in the education system.system of: · What we need is a cheap and reliable system of public transportation.· a democratic system of governmentsystem for (doing) something: · They are introducing a system for dealing with enquiries from customers.
informal the way in which things are organized or done within a company, school etc: · My last school was quite traditional, but it's a different set-up at the new one.· An efficient accounts set-up can not only save a company money: it can improve its relationship with its clients.
a system of lines, tubes, wires, roads etc that are connected to each other: · A 24-hour strike brought the railway network to a standstill.· US companies have invested heavily in their telecommunications networks.network of: · A network of veins and arteries carries the blood around the body.
a basic system of rules or ideas that people work within: · How do you feel you can develop your skills within the framework of the team?· We need a legal and political framework that is favourable to business.framework for: · The aim of this legislation is to provide a framework for employers and trade unions to operate in.
a system, especially a complicated one with a lot of different levels: · Many visitors to the UK find the British class structure difficult to understand.structure of: · She studied the organizational structure of the company to see whether it could be made more efficient.· The structure of the US banking system is changing.
a system of rules that makes it possible for particular things to happen or for people to do something: · Many schools have a mechanism which allows parents to inspect classroom materials.mechanism to do something: · The peace plan includes a mechanism to share power between all four parties.mechanism for (doing) something: · The free market system is an imperfect mechanism for achieving full employment.
WORD SETSAC, accessory, nounadapter, nounadhesive, nounaerate, verbaerosol, nounair conditioning, nounair lock, nounairtight, adjectivealarm, nounandroid, nounantenna, nounarm, nounattachment, nounaxle, nounbaffle, nounball bearing, nounballcock, nounbarrel, nounbearing, nounbelt, nounbenzine, nounbinder, nounbinoculars, nounblock and tackle, nounblower, nounboarding, nounbolt, nounbrad, nounbrake fluid, nounbrush, nounbucket, nounbuffer, nounbulb, nounBulldog clip, nounbutton, nounbuzzer, nouncable, nouncalibre, nouncam, nouncan, nouncar, nouncarriage, nouncartridge, nouncasing, nouncaster, nouncatalytic converter, nouncentrifuge, nounchannel, nounchicken wire, nounchute, nouncladding, nounclamp, nouncleat, nouncog, nouncogwheel, nouncombination lock, nouncompartment, nouncompressor, nounconcave, adjectiveconcavity, nounconfiguration, nouncontrol, nouncord, nouncounter, nouncrank, nouncutout, nouncyborg, nouncycle, noundamper, noundetector, noundevelop, verbdevice, noundial, noundie, verbdigital, adjectivedispenser, noundissipation, noundistill, verbdrum, nounduct, noundurable goods, noundynamite, noundynamite, verbenergize, verbengage, verbexhaust, nounextractor, nounfacility, nounfail-safe, adjectivefaucet, nounfeed, nounfiberglass, nounfibreglass, nounfield test, nounfilament, nounfilter, nounfirst generation, nounfitting, nounflange, nounflare, nounflex, nounfloodlight, nounfluid, nounfluoridate, verbflush, verbflywheel, nounfoam, verbframe, nounframework, nounfunnel, noungabardine, noungasket, noungas turbine, noungear, noungel, verbgelatinous, adjectivegelignite, noungenetic fingerprinting, nounglaze, verbglue, noungoggles, noungrab, noungrease, noungrease, verbgrid, noungrind, verbgrindstone, noungrommet, noungum, noungun, nounhand-held, adjectivehandle, nounhandloom, nounhandmade, adjectivehandsfree, adjectivehardware, nounharness, nounhasp, nounheavy-duty, adjectiveheavy metal, nounhessian, nounhigh-definition, adjectivehigh-powered, adjectivehinge, nounhooter, nounhousing, nounhub, nounhumidifier, nounincinerate, verbincinerator, nounindustrial arts, nounIndustrial Revolution, the, nouninlay, nouninlet, nouninoperative, adjectiveinsecticide, nouninset, verbinstall, verbinstallation, nouninstrumentation, nouninsulate, verbintake, nouninternal combustion engine, nouninverse, adjectiveionizer, nouniron, nouniron, verbjack, nounjib, nounkey, nounkeyboard, verbkey card, nounkeypad, nounkeystroke, nounkingpin, nounlaser, nounLCD, nounlead, nounlens, nounlever, nounlie detector, nounlift, nounlight bulb, nounlinseed oil, nounlistening device, nounlocomotion, nounloop, verbLuddite, nounmachine, verbmachine-made, adjectivemagnet, nounmagnetic, adjectivemagnifying glass, nounmantle, nounmanual, adjectivemap, verbmarker, nounmastic, nounmaterial, nounmechanism, nounmedium, nounmembrane, nounmesh, verbmetal detector, nounmethanol, nounmeths, nounmethyl alcohol, nounmica, nounmicro-, prefixmicroscope, nounmicroscopic, adjectivemode, nounmortise lock, nounmounting, nounmovement, nounnail, nounnail, verbnet, nounnib, nounnipple, nounnitroglycerine, nounnozzle, nounnut, nounoil, verboilcan, nounoperable, adjectiveoperate, verboperation, nounoperational research, nounoperator, nounoutlet, nounoxidize, verboxygen mask, nounozone-friendly, adjectivepad, nounpadlock, nounpaper, nounpart, nounpaving, nounPhotostat, nounpinion, nounpipe, nounpipette, nounpocket calculator, nounpointer, nounpolygraph, nounportico, nounpropellant, nounpump-action, adjectiverack, nounreel, nounrefrigerate, verbrelease, verbrelease, nounremote control, nounreservoir, nounresolution, nounrespirator, nounrobot, nounrobotics, nounsafe, nounsealant, nounsealer, nounsearchlight, nounsensitize, verbsetting, nounshovel, nounshovel, verbsiphon, nounsiren, nounskeleton key, nounslat, nounslide, nounsling, nounsmoke alarm, nounsonic, adjectivesoot, nounspare part, nounspigot, nounspool, nounspout, nounspray, nounspray can, nounspring, nounsprocket, nounstaple, nounsteel wool, nounsucker, nounsuction, nounSuperglue, nounswivel, nountab, nountackle, nountank, nountape, nountaper, nountechnological, adjectivetechnologist, nountechnophobe, nountelescopic, adjectivetesting ground, nountest tube, nounthinner, nounthread, nountoken, nountreadle, nountrestle, nountrestle table, nountube, nountubing, nountubular, adjectivetwo-edged, adjectivetypewriter, noununscrew, verbuntreated, adjectivevacuum-packed, adjectivevent, nounvial, nounwasher, nounwater softener, nounwaterspout, nounwheeled, adjectivewing nut, nounwooden, adjectivework-surface, nounzapper, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY When a person is ill, the body’s natural defence mechanisms come into operation.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
When a person is ill, the body’s natural defence mechanisms come into operation.· Such movement may be caused by at least three different mechanisms.· However, different mechanisms appear to be involved in these two acid-base disorders.· In soft-bodied insect larvae, where the appendages are reduced or absent, locomotion occurs through quite different physical mechanisms.· In our model, the cells in the progress zone have their position specified along the two axes by two different mechanisms.· Coupling chromatographic methods based on different separation mechanisms can enhance the separation potential of the individual methods.· Or is development just the accretion of a variety of different mechanisms?· There is also evidence that different mechanisms are involved in residual brightness discrimination.· These antibiotics act by a different mechanism from - and thus complement - the existing drugs.
· The most effective proven mechanism to achieve price stability is an independent central bank dedicated to that objective.· It is a subtle but marvelously effective mechanism for steering behavior toward healthy and productive ends.· Deprived of any effective legal mechanism through which to express their discontent, the peasants expressed it instead through rural disturbances.· No effective mechanism was established to link the two groups.· Consequently the saturated zone must be constantly flushed by undersaturated water if dissolution is to be an effective mechanism.· Clapping the hands remains one of the most ancient gestures, bringing into play those eminently effective mechanisms.
· In other words, are formal or informal mechanisms of control the major influence?· Is there a formal mechanism for capturing measurements of the process, and is it providing feedback for improvement?· How is it, then, that such findings have not brought about the introduction of a formal corrective mechanism?· Or, can formal mechanisms ever be expected to ensure a successful process of succession?· In short, there was an apparent absence of political will to ensure that formal control mechanisms functioned in practice.
· During the long post-war boom, argues Aglietta, such flexibility had not been an important regulating mechanism.· This is an important protective mechanism.· But the most pervasive and important mechanism is based on chemical substances called pheromones.· The most important mechanism for achieving such self-consistency is natural selection.· These are by no means the only mechanisms but they are amongst the most important.· Because it is very important, the mechanism of the reduction of a late painful emotion engram must be specifically detailed.
· Inflammation is another internal defence mechanism and is a reaction of living tissue to infection, injury and irritants.· Equilibration is the internal mechanism that regulates those processes.· Consideration is also being given to running workshops on the internal quality assurance mechanisms which colleges will be required to develop.· These divergent internal growth mechanisms will be reinforced by the nature of the interaction between the regions.· Immunity is another type of internal defence mechanism usually arising in response to an infection.· However the body has several physical internal mechanisms for combating the adverse external conditions which are an inevitable part of living.
· The other mechanism involves the effects of heating associated with plate subduction.· In the other two mechanisms, buckminsterfullerene is formed by a combination of specific precursor carbon clusters.· There would be little, if any, need for cell conversations, gradients, and other organizing mechanisms.· There are also other mechanisms for intensifying bands due to formally forbidden transitions, which we do not discuss here.· However, there may be other mechanisms in operation.· Which other mechanisms may be causal?· The secretion of these hormonal peptides, particularly from the colon, is therefore likely to entail other mechanisms.· Usually there will be some redundancy in the system so that other mechanisms can take over.
· The prince has suggested two possible constitutional mechanisms to achieve this end.· If deposited there, salt movement and solution-collapse could provide further possible fracturing mechanisms.· There appear to be two possible mechanisms to account for this.· There seemed to be at least two possible mechanisms.· There are, however, other possible mechanisms by which food sensitivities are mediated.· There are several possible mechanisms which may be responsible for this adaptation.
· One might expect this because convergent evolution would lead to similar mechanisms to carry out similar functions.· Walkup's argument: Well-planned development can pay for itself, without the burden of impact fees and similar financing mechanisms.· A similar mechanism may perhaps account for the fact that some group-living animals drive sick or injured individuals out of the group.· Defecation syncope has a similar underlying mechanism.· A similar mechanism works in: What is Kristeva's position on gender-positioning in this article?· Living lampreys have a very similar mechanism.· Is the technology forcing similar mechanisms of intervention on to governments with differing ideologies and on to states with differing institutional lay-outs?· It was not possible to vary this, because playback machines had to have a similar gearing mechanism.
· The paper argues that these various mechanisms now need to be harmonised.· It too can be relaxed by various mechanisms.· Bored soldiers were showing how various mechanisms operated and explaining the rate at which bullets could be discharged.· The ergonomics emphasis will be on the human operator as the navigator moving towards the system objectives supported by various mechanisms.· Control from above was won by the use of various mechanisms.
NOUN· It is therefore essential that the control mechanisms for each are put in place at the beginning of the design stage.· Teams hold employees to high standards, acting as a more acceptable quality control mechanism than evaluations and orders from the top.· There is now a need for alternative control mechanisms in this new computing environment, one of which is proper personnel controls.· But where are the sensors and the thermostatic control mechanisms?· The traditional budget ensures compliance with the conditions set out in the appropriations; that is, it acts as a control mechanism.· Cell transformation Cancer cells become tumorigenic as a result of multiple independent steps which subvert the normal growth control mechanisms described earlier.· No single control mechanism can ensure efficiency.· The body has to have control mechanisms to regulate all its functions.
· When it's cold, the body sets its own range of defence mechanisms in motion.· What appears to be contrary can always be assimilated as evidence of repression, or as a defence mechanism.· Inflammation is another internal defence mechanism and is a reaction of living tissue to infection, injury and irritants.· And if our defence mechanism is impaired, what other dangers may we not be open to?· I note this, and harp on her imperfections, as a defence mechanism.· The ideal candidate will have experience of protein purification and gene cloning and should have an appreciation of plant defence mechanisms.· Where did she get this automatic shutdown defence mechanism?· Everyone's got a defence mechanism.
· Using the generated income for training enables this activity to become an exchange mechanism.
· This competition can not come through direct market mechanisms.· They prefer market mechanisms to bureaucratic mechanisms.· Here the market mechanism appears to operate in a relatively straight forward way, but there are a number of problems.· Production decisions in the mixed economy are primarily demand-oriented, driven by the market mechanism.· One also needs to be wary of the inequalities that market mechanisms bring in their wake.· The emphasis in this tradition is very much on the limitations of the market mechanism.· Second, that by impeding the market mechanism it may restrict consumer choice.· However, many question over the effectiveness of market mechanisms remain.
· There are theoretical models which suggest that effective markets depend on legal and institutional factors as well as the operation of the price mechanism.· It is no good telling me that the price mechanism does not work any more.· There are more imaginative regulatory ideas that harness the price mechanism and market forces.· In other words, the price mechanism has not yet been able to form a support for the market.· First, the elimination of exchange rate uncertainty will enhance the efficiency of the price mechanism as a resource allocator.· The reason is that a properly functioning price mechanism performs the function of inputting these values for us.
· The obvious parallel is with the reaction to Britain's entry into the exchange rate mechanism 18 months ago.· Our first priority must be to maintain the pound's position within the exchange rate mechanism.· Here we focus on the interest rate mechanism.· Sir Robin said foreign-exchange gains were helped by sterling's departure from the exchange rate mechanism.· Such a move would probably be ruled out even if we were not members of the exchange rate mechanism.· The exchange rate mechanism is a discipline to reduce inflation.· Nigel Lawson rightly wanted to join the exchange rate mechanism two years ago - as did Sir Geoffrey Howe.
· It was my own survival mechanism.
VERB· An important feature is the QA-approved amendment mechanism to allow changes or additions to be made in the light of experience.· What mechanism allows toadstools -- essentially very soft and squashy items -- to push through two inches of asphalt?· It will produce the hard data needed to analyse resource utilisation and will trigger an alarm mechanism allowing managers to control access.· To make sure that market mechanisms and incentives are allowed to do their job.· Effective community care must provide a mechanism which allows easy and appropriate referral to and from hospital clinics.· By the twentieth edition synthesis had become a well-established mechanism for allowing detailed specification without resorting to exceedingly lengthy schedules.· The free-running ratchet mechanism allow changes of direction to be made with finger and thumb, without releasing the handle.
· Once these problems have been identified, we can proceed to develop adequate mechanisms for overcoming them.· The challenge is to develop a mechanism for doing this which does not undermine the role of nation states.· He develops his own personal mechanism for dealing with it.· The Stalinist model, in which the Stakhanovites flourished, failed to develop any sensible control mechanisms, and thus collapsed.· In this situation of permanent threat perceptions developed into defence mechanisms.· Work organizations have yet to develop such coping mechanisms.
· Other mechanisms ensure the appropriate orientation of the insect during flight.· The market has a mechanism for ensuring even that the potential risk of damage to the environment can be costed.· We have long believed the land use planning system is a vital mechanism for ensuring environmental protection and enhancement.· No single control mechanism can ensure efficiency.· We are putting in place new mechanisms to ensure that academic standards are maintained in higher education.· Thus competition is singled out for the first time as the chosen mechanism for ensuring the public interest.· There were, though, no organised mechanisms to ensure that the play performed was the play written.· There is no mechanism which ensures that the benefit will exactly offset the losses for any particular country.
· And, lastly, the definition of rules for housework establishes a mechanism whereby the housewife can reward herself for doing it.· Activities i. Establish mechanisms for timely and systematic information exchange between public health agencies of different countries about emerging infectious diseases.· Compacts establish a positive mechanism for communication between disparate groups.· It establishes a mechanism for self management, the reward is personal success.· Zoologists have yet to establish the precise mechanisms behind the camel's fuel economy.· This concept views human society as being equipped with an internal gyroscope which establishes a natural ordering mechanism in society.
· But the most important function of the organization is to provide a mechanism for the revision of the scheme.· Audit techniques provide a mechanism both for documenting appropriate patterns of care and for identifying areas in which improvement is necessary.· Compact provides a mechanism for articulating these needs through Partnership between Education and Industry.· The parties can also provide mechanisms for facilitating cooperation and regulating conflict among different parties.· In order to encourage the internal generation a ideas, senior management must provide a clear mechanism for bringing ideas to their attention.· That new system provided a feedback mechanism for each team on the quality of its product.· The disintegration of infected cells provides another mechanism for the release of newly-formed viruses.· He then enclosed it in a transparent box which he provided with a mechanism for straining the specimen in bending.
· The prince has suggested two possible constitutional mechanisms to achieve this end.· What Lednor and Versloot have done is to unify these unrelated chemical curiosities by suggesting one underlying mechanism.· Resistance can be very serious as there is evidence to suggest that the mechanism is cross transferable to antibiotics.· This suggests that the visual mechanisms involved in discrimination performance change after visual cortex ablation.· This suggests that the mechanisms which constrain fetal growth to prevent maternal-fetal disproportion do not effect long term programming of cardiovascular disease.· The aetiology remains unknown, but much circumstantial evidence suggests that immunological mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis.
· In order to understand the mechanisms governing ribosome biosynthesis, it is necessary to elucidate the structure and organization of its components.· But we have to understand the mechanisms they are using in order to help them develop new and more flexible behaviors.· It is difficult to understand the mechanisms of the network as a whole.· Already we have a few examples of the end-product of several stages of processing, although we do not yet understand the mechanisms.
· The extent to which cells actually use such mechanisms is still being investigated.· The trick is getting a critical mass of corporations and consumers to use electronic mechanisms.· The organization is free to use any available social mechanisms to enforce compliance and ensure its own stability. 5.· He may use more primitive mechanisms to battle back.· The collateral or preliminary fact doctrine was used as their mechanism.· Once evolution had discovered successful ways of constructing organisms it would surely have used those same mechanisms again and again.· The hard-top even uses the same mechanisms and can be attached or removed in a similar time.· Preobrazhensky also wanted to use the market mechanism to extract surplus from the peasants so that state industry could accumulate and grow.
WORD FAMILYnounmachinemachinerymachinistmechanicmechanicsmechanismmechanizationadjectivemechanicalmechanizedmechanisticverbmachinemechanizeadverbmechanicallymechanistically
1part of a machine or a set of parts that does a particular job: the brake mechanism a clock mechanism2a system that is intended to achieve something or deal with a problemmechanism for (doing) something existing mechanisms for decision-makingmechanism to do something The Army has set up mechanisms to help jobless ex-soldiers get work. → exchange rate mechanism3a system or a way of behaving that helps a living thing to avoid or protect itself from something difficult or dangerousdefence/control/survival mechanism When a person is ill, the body’s natural defence mechanisms come into operation.4the way that something worksmechanism of the mechanism of the brain