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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

clockwork.

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.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈklɑkwɝk/US/ˈklɒkwɜːk/UK
  1. 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.

    uncountable · usually
  2. The action of behaving mechanically in the manner of a clock.

    uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *klokkosder. Early Medieval Latin cloccader. Old Northern French cloquebor. Old Dutch *klokka Middle Dutch clockebor. Middle English clokke English clock English -work English clockwork From clock + -work.

adj/ˈklɑkwɝk/US/ˈklɒkwɜːk/UK
  1. Driven by clockwork.

    attributive · not-comparable
  2. Very smooth and regular.

    attributive · not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *klokkosder. Early Medieval Latin cloccader. Old Northern French cloquebor. Old Dutch *klokka Middle Dutch clockebor. Middle English clokke English clock English -work English clockwork From clock + -work.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.