Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

mechanism

 noun
     
Related topics: Technology
mech‧a‧nis‧m [countable]
1T part of a machine or a set of parts that does a particular job:
the brake mechanism
a clock mechanism
2 a system that is intended to achieve something or deal with a problem
mechanism for (doing) something
existing mechanisms for decision making
mechanism to do something
The Army has set up mechanisms to help jobless ex-soldiers get work.
➔ exchange rate mechanism
3MP a system or a way of behaving that helps a living thing to avoid or protect itself from something difficult or dangerous
defence/control/survival mechanism
When a person is ill, the body's natural defence mechanisms come into operation.
4 the way that something works
mechanism of
the mechanism of the brain
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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