1. A set of materials or equipment designed for a particular use; A group of anatomical or cytological parts functioning together; An instrument or appliance designed for a specific operation
2. The functional processes by means of which a systematized activity is carried out; as the machinery of government; the organization of a political party or an underground movement + prikaži više

ETYM Old Eng. devis, devise, will, intention, opinion, invention, from French devis architect's plan and estimates (in Old Fren., division, plan, wish), devise device, in Old Fren. also, division, wish, last will, from deviser. Related to Devise, Devise.
1. An instrumental invented for a particular purpose.
2. Any clever (deceptive) maneuver; SYN. gimmick, twist.
3. Something in an artistic work designed to achieve a particular effect.
4. Any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery).
5. An emblematic design (especially in heraldry). + prikaži više

ETYM French, from Latin machina machine, engine, device, trick, Greek, from mechane means, expedient. Related to Mechanic.
1. Any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks.
2. An intricate organization that accomplishes its goals efficiently.
3. An efficient person.
4. A group that controls the activities of a political party; SYN. political machine.
5. A device for overcoming resistance at one point by applying force at some other point; SYN. simple machine.
Device that allows a small force (the effort) to overcome a larger one (the load). There are three basic machines: the inclined plane (ramp), the lever, and the wheel and axle. All other machines are combinations of these three basic types. Simple machines derived from the inclined plane include the wedge, the gear, and the screw; the spanner is derived from the lever; the pulley from the wheel.
The principal features of a machine are its mechanical advantage, which is the ratio of load to effort, its velocity ratio, and its efficiency, which is the work done by the load divided by the work done by the effort; the latter is expressed as a percentage. In a perfect machine, with no friction, the efficiency would be 100%. All practical machines have efficiencies of less than 100%, otherwise perpetual motion would be possible. + prikaži više

ETYM Cf. French mécanisme, Latin mechanisma. Related to Mechanic.
Belief that life is explainable by mechanical forces.
In philosophy, a system of adapted parts working together, as in a machine. Mechanists hold that all natural phenomena admit of mechanical explanation, and that no reference to teleology (purpose or design) is necessary. In political philosophy, mechanists (like English thinkers Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jeremy Bentham, and J S Mill) see the state as more or less the sum of the individuals composing it, and not as an entity in its own right (which is organicism).
1. A piece of machinery or a mechanical device; has moving parts that perform some function.
2. Technical aspects of doing something; SYN. mechanics.
3. A natural object resembling a machine in structure and function.
4. The atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction; SYN. chemical mechanism. + prikaži više