escapement

Noun

escapement (plural escapements)

1. (clocks) The linkage in a (watch) that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands.
   • The escapement is the reason why clocks tick.
   • For some reason, adjusting the 400-day clock escapement strikes fear into the hearts of many clock repairers.2010, Joseph Rabushka, Repair and Restore Your 400-Day Clock, →ISBN, page 53
2. A mechanism found in devices such as a typewriter or printer which controls lateral motion of the carriage.
3. An escape or a means of escape.
4. The number of fish that escape commercial fishing operations and travel upstream to spawn.
   • Importantly, there are also extensive practical difficulties associated with gathering and interpreting accurate escapement and run-size information and applying it to population management.1999, E. Eric Knudsen, Donald McDonald, Sustainable Fisheries Management: Pacific Salmon, →ISBN, page 237
   • They obtained migration information from a mark– recapture experiment, daily escapement information from aerial surveys, and daily catch information from fish tickets.1999, Terrance J. Quinn, Richard B. Deriso, Quantitative Fish Dynamics, →ISBN, page 432