mechanism
nounUK /ˈmek.ə.nɪ.zəm/
US /ˈmek.ə.nɪ.zəm/
A mechanism is the parts inside a machine that make it work.
The clock stopped because a small mechanism inside it broke.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A way that something happens or is done.
Scientists studied the mechanism by which plants make food.
3. A set of rules or a system for doing something.
The country set up a mechanism for solving disputes peacefully.
4. The belief that everything in nature happens for physical reasons.
His philosophy was a form of mechanism that explained life through physics.