mechanization

[ mek-uh-nahy-zey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of causing a task to be performed or operated by machinery:

   The mechanization of cinnamon processing has also solved health and sanitation issues plaguing the industry.

2. the act or process of introducing machines into an industry or other area of activity in order to replace human labor:

   Hay loaders are another example of the increasing mechanization of agriculture.

3. the act or process of subordinating the spiritual to the material, or of explaining something totally in terms of material forces:

   There is a vague unease with the artificiality of technology, with its imperialistic mechanization of a world from which we ourselves feel strangely alien.

Other Words From

• an·ti·mech·a·ni·za·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mechanization¹

mechaniz(e) ( def ) + -ation

Example Sentences

The firm at first sought Smoot’s advice on camera mechanization that allowed for on-demand view changes for Florida’s Animal Kingdom park.

From Los Angeles Times

It grew well and people liked the taste — and the advances of the Industrial Revolution, including the mechanization of agriculture and the introduction of the railroad, propelled it to the fore.

From Salon

John Deskins, director of the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said 75% of West Virginia’s coal jobs were disappearing before coal production dropped because of mechanization.

From Seattle Times

The population drain continued as increased mechanization of farming reduced the need for farm laborers and other types of industry fled the region.

From New York Times

"A computer destroys the sense of historical succession, just as do other forms of mechanization," Berry wrote in the same essay.

From Salon

Related Words

• automation
• machinery