clockwork
noun
clock·work
ˈkläk-ˌwərk 
1
: the inner workings of something
2
: the machinery (such as springs and a train of gears) that run a clock
also
: a similar mechanism running a mechanical device (such as a toy)
3
: the precision, regularity, or absence of variation associated with a clock or clockwork
a clockwork operation
—used in the phrase like clockwork to describe something that happens or works in a regular and exact wayThis type of star has a wonderful property: Its brightness waxes and wanes like clockwork…—
Ron Cowen
Ron CowenIf everything went like clockwork, it would have taken a year to get items in stores.—Brooks Barnes
Brooks BarnesExamples of clockwork in a Sentence
the clockwork inside a mechanical toy soldier
Recent Examples on the Web
Like clockwork, more and more white shark reports are starting to roll in as the apex predators move north for the summer and fall.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
Bargatze plays Nate Wilcox, a beloved Toyota salesperson whose wife, Katie (played by Mandy Moore), runs their home like clockwork.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
If wanting to ascribe feelings to the nonhuman world is an anthropocentric crime, the opposite—failure to ascribe feelings to animals, or to respond creatively to plants—seems much worse, entailing an inert, clockwork universe of mechanistic automata, in which humans are the only conscious actors.
—Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026
The new warden made Tina's release work like clockwork.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clockwork
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Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
Bargatze plays Nate Wilcox, a beloved Toyota salesperson whose wife, Katie (played by Mandy Moore), runs their home like clockwork.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
If wanting to ascribe feelings to the nonhuman world is an anthropocentric crime, the opposite—failure to ascribe feelings to animals, or to respond creatively to plants—seems much worse, entailing an inert, clockwork universe of mechanistic automata, in which humans are the only conscious actors.
—Jenny Odell, Longreads, 2 June 2026
The new warden made Tina's release work like clockwork.
—Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clockwork
Cite this Entry
“Clockwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clockwork. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clockwork
noun
clock·work
ˈkläk-ˌwərk
: machinery (as in a mechanical toy) containing a set of small cogwheels
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