mechanism

Noun

mechanism (countable and uncountable, plural mechanisms)

1. (within a machine or machinery) Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
2. Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.
   • A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3
3. A group of entities, such as objects, that interact together.
   • A site that carried [sexually explicit] material, but that gated it off from children through credit cards or other mechanisms to verify the age of the user, would have an acceptable defense under the act.1999 February 1, Pamela Mendels, “Judge Delays Online Pornography Law”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2022
   • Whatever the mechanism, attempts to starve the beast through revenue shortages somehow seem to make the beast all the more voracious.2010 February 22, Catherine Rampell, “A New Social Contract, but Which One?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Oct 2021
4. A mental, physical, or chemical process.
5. Any process of, or system designed to manage useful energy conversion.
6. The theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes.

   Synonyms:

   mechanicism