clockwork
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English
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
clockwork (usually uncountable, plural clockworks)
- A mechanism powered by a coiled spring and regulated by some form of escapement; the power is transmitted through toothed gearwheels and used to drive a mechanical clock, toy, or other device.
- The action of behaving mechanically in the manner of a clock.
- 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “An Evening Alone”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. , volume I, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 307:
- The mind feeds upon the body: pale sickness, and early decrepitude, overmaster even its spiritual essence. Too late it discovers that this earth is its prison, and not its home: the heart beats, and its pulses are the clockwork of wretchedness:...
Derived terms
Translations
mechanism powered by coiled spring to drive mechanical device
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Adjective
clockwork (not comparable) (attributive)
- Driven by clockwork.
- Very smooth and regular.
- 1962 April, J. M. Tolson, “The Nederlands Railways today: III: Signalling and freight”, in Modern Railways, page 244:
- In their freight, as in their passenger operations, the N.S. present a picture of clockwork efficiency.
References
- “clockwork”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.