adjective
- having to do with machinery: a mechanical failure.
- being a machine; operated by machinery: a mechanical toy.
- caused by or derived from machinery: mechanical propulsion.
- using machine parts only.
- brought about by friction, abrasion, etc.: a mechanical bond between stones; mechanical erosion.
- pertaining to the design, use, understanding, etc., of tools and machinery: the mechanical trades; mechanical ability.
- acting or performed without spontaneity, spirit, individuality, etc.: a mechanical performance.
- habitual; routine; automatic: Practice that step until it becomes mechanical.
- belonging or pertaining to the subject matter of mechanics.
- pertaining to, or controlled or effected by, physical forces.
- (of a philosopher or philosophical theory) explaining phenomena as due to mechanical action or the material forces of the universe.
- subordinating the spiritual to the material; materialistic.
noun
- a mechanical object, part, device, etc.
- Printing. a sheet of stiff paper on which has been pasted artwork and type proofs for making a printing plate; paste-up.
- Obsolete. a skilled manual laborer, as a carpenter or other artisan.
adjective
- made, performed, or operated by or as if by a machine or machinerya mechanical process
- concerned with machines or machinery
- relating to or controlled or operated by physical forces
- of or concerned with mechanics
- (of a gesture, etc) automatic; lacking thought, feeling, etc
- philosophy accounting for phenomena by physically determining forces
- (of paper, such as newsprint) made from pulp that has been mechanically ground and contains impurities
noun
- printing another name for camera-ready copy
- archaic another word for mechanic (def. 2)
adj.early 15c., “of or pertaining to machines,” from mechanic (adj.) + -al (1); of persons or human actions, “resembling machines, automatic” it is from c.1600. Related: Mechanically. Mechanical-minded is recorded from 1820. adj.
- Operated or produced by a mechanism or machine.
- Relating to, produced by, or dominated by physical forces.
- Interpreting and explaining the phenomena of the universe by referring to causally determined material forces; mechanistic.