ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : machinery composed of or containing a train of wheels of small size ; especially : a mechanism of delicate construction that operates with unfailing regularity and minute accuracy (as in a meter)
2. : a timing device similar to the works of a clock and operated usually by a spring especially for actuating a signal, a set of motions in a toy, or a bomb
3. : something that by its effects seems to perform in response to clockwork or to be controlled by clockwork
Emil Ludwig adapted psychoanalytic methods in exposing the psychical clockwork of his subjects — Siegfried Mandel
like a waxen lady with clockwork breathing — Elizabeth Bowen