mechanic
Americannoun
-
mechanics
plural
-
a person who repairs and maintains machinery, motors, etc..
an automobile mechanic.
-
a worker who is skilled in the use of tools, machines, equipment, etc.
-
Slang. a person skilled in the dishonest handling of cards, dice, or other objects used in games of chance.
noun
-
a person skilled in maintaining or operating machinery, motors, etc
-
archaic a common labourer
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mechanic
1350–1400; Middle English: mechanical < Latin mēchanicus < Greek mēchanikós, equivalent to mēchan ( ḗ ) machine + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A mechanic is a person who builds or repairs engines or other machines. Mechanics are trained to use special tools and often work in shops or garages. If you are planning to be a mechanic, you have to be prepared to get your hands dirty. The most common type of mechanic works on vehicles like cars, motorcycles, tractors, or airplanes. If your car is making a strange noise, you should probably take it to a mechanic. The oldest meaning of this word was simply "laborer," or "person who works with his hands," from the Greek root mekhanikos, "engineer." The current sense of mechanic came into use along with the popularity of the automobile.
Vocabulary lists containing mechanic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That night, having initially been treated as a suspect, she sat in the interview suite at Stretford Police Station and named her cousin, 35-year-old former mechanic Simon Richardson, as the driver.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The retired aircraft mechanic then sits back and observes while the car cruises at 55 miles an hour past subdivisions and a golf course near his home in Brighton, Mich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“We have this truck blocking the entry—we’ve got to stay on our tippy-toes,” a mechanic named Denson, who started out at Amazon, told me.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
Two years later, they assumed co-ownership of the auto mechanic shop in Jurupa Valley that Ortiz Jara had worked at for 20 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Latrell got weirdly defensive, as if Donovan might be trying to steal his job as the team’s top mechanic.
From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman
"We are creating a momentum where both sides are learning the… mechanics of how to actually keep the peace when the peace comes," he added.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Amazon said advertisers adjust bids based on real-world performance, not descriptions of auction mechanics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
“It invests the states with responsibility for the mechanics of congressional elections,” unless Congress adopts a different rule.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
One example is the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, which appears in attempts to combine quantum mechanics with gravity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
Quantum mechanics got rid of the zero in the classical theory of light—removing the infinite energy that supposedly came from every bit of matter in the universe.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
