Adjacent Words

mechanical definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices; "a mechanical process"; "his smile was very mechanical"; "a mechanical toy" [ant: nonmechanical]
2: relating to or concerned with machinery or tools; "mechanical arts"; "mechanical design"; "mechanical skills" [syn: mechanical, mechanically skillful]
3: relating to or governed by or in accordance with mechanics; "a belief that the universe is a mechanical contrivance"; "the mechanical pressure of a strong wind"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 15th century 1. a. (1) of or relating to machinery or tools <mechanical applications of science> <a mechanical genius> <mechanical aptitude> (2) produced or operated by a machine or tool <mechanical power> <a mechanical refrigerator> <a mechanical saw> b. of or relating to manual operations 2. of or relating to artisans or machinists <the mechanical trades> 3. a. done as if by machine ; seemingly uninfluenced by the mind or emotions ; automatic <her singing was cold and mechanical> b. of or relating to technicalities or petty matters 4. a. relating to, governed by, or in accordance with the principles of mechanics <mechanical work> <mechanical energy> b. relating to the quantitative relations of force and matter <mechanical pressure of wind on a tower> 5. caused by, resulting from, or relating to a process that involves a purely physical as opposed to a chemical or biological change or process <mechanical erosion of rock> Synonyms: see spontaneous • mechanically adverb II. noun Date: 1600 1. obsolete mechanic 1 2. a piece of finished copy consisting typically of type proofs and artwork positioned and mounted for photomechanical reproduction

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 of or relating to machines or mechanisms. 2 working or produced by machinery. 3 (of a person or action) like a machine; automatic; lacking originality. 4 a (of an agency, principle, etc.) belonging to mechanics. b (of a theory etc.) explaining phenomena by the assumption of mechanical action. 5 of or relating to mechanics as a science. Phrases and idioms: mechanical advantage the ratio of exerted to applied force in a machine. mechanical drawing a scale drawing of machinery etc. done with precision instruments. mechanical engineer a person skilled in the branch of engineering dealing with the design, construction, and repair of machines. mechanical equivalent of heat the conversion factor between heat energy and mechanical energy. Derivatives: mechanicalism n. (in sense 4). mechanically adv. mechanicalness n. Etymology: ME f. L mechanicus (as MECHANIC)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mechanical Me*chan"ic*al, a. [From Mechanic, a.] 1. Pertaining to, governed by, or in accordance with, mechanics, or the laws of motion; pertaining to the quantitative relations of force and matter, as distinguished from mental, vital, chemical, etc.; as, mechanical principles; a mechanical theory; mechanical deposits. 2. Of or pertaining to a machine or to machinery or tools; made or formed by a machine or with tools; as, mechanical precision; mechanical products. We have also divers mechanical arts. --Bacon. 3. Done as if by a machine; uninfluenced by will or emotion; proceeding automatically, or by habit, without special intention or reflection; as, mechanical singing; mechanical verses; mechanical service. 4. Made and operated by interaction of forces without a directing intelligence; as, a mechanical universe. 5. Obtained by trial, by measurements, etc.; approximate; empirical. See the 2d Note under Geometric. Mechanical effect, effective power; useful work exerted, as by a machine, in a definite time. Mechanical engineering. See the Note under Engineering. Mechanical maneuvers (Mil.), the application of mechanical appliances to the mounting, dismounting, and moving of artillery. --Farrow. Mechanical philosophy, the principles of mechanics applied to the inverstigation of physical phenomena. Mechanical powers, certain simple instruments, such as the lever and its modifications (the wheel and axle and the pulley), the inclined plane with its modifications (the screw and the wedge), which convert a small force acting through a great space into a great force acting through a small space, or vice versa, and are used separately or in combination. Mechanical solution (Math.), a solution of a problem by any art or contrivance not strictly geometrical, as by means of the ruler and compasses, or other instruments.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mechanical Me*chan"ic*al, n. A mechanic. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. A mechanical device has parts that move when it is working, often using power from an engine or from electricity. ...a small mechanical device that taps out the numbers. ...the oldest working mechanical clock in the world... ADJ: usu ADJ n • mechanically The air was circulated mechanically. ADV: ADV with v 2. Mechanical means relating to machines and engines and the way they work. ...mechanical engineering... The train had stopped due to a mechanical problem. ADJ: ADJ n • mechanically The car was mechanically sound, he decided. ADV: ADV adj/-ed 3. If you describe a person as mechanical, you mean they are naturally good at understanding how machines work. He was a very mechanical person, who knew a lot about sound... ADJ • mechanically I'm not mechanically minded. ADV: ADV -ed 4. If you describe someone's action as mechanical, you mean that they do it automatically, without thinking about it. It is real prayer, and not mechanical repetition... ADJ • mechanically He nodded mechanically, his eyes fixed on the girl. ADV: ADV with v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Involuntary, blind, automatic.

Moby Thesaurus

accordant, aeromechanical, alike, automated, automatic, balanced, biomechanical, blind, cold, colorless, compulsive, conditioned, consistent, consonant, constant, continuous, correspondent, dead, distant, equable, equal, even, flat, forced, habitual, homogeneous, immutable, impersonal, impulsive, inanimate, insensible, instinctive, invariable, involuntary, level, lifeless, locomotive, locomotor, machinal, machine-made, machinelike, matter-of-fact, measured, mechanistic, mechanized, methodic, monolithic, of a piece, ordered, orderly, perfunctory, persistent, power-driven, powered, reflex, reflexive, regular, ritualistic, robotlike, routine, smooth, spiritless, stable, steadfast, steady, systematic, unanimated, unartistic, unbroken, unchangeable, unchanged, unchanging, unconscious, undeviating, undifferentiated, undiversified, unemotional, unfeeling, uniform, uninspired, unintentional, unruffled, unthinking, unvaried, unvarying, unwilled, unwilling, unwitting, zoomechanical