Noun

(en noun)

Within a machine or machinery; any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.

Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03

, author=(Henry Petroski) , title=Opening Doors , volume=100, issue=2, page=112-3 , magazine= citation , passage=A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism —known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.}}

A group of objects or parts that interact together. (as in Political machine )

A mental, physical or chemical process.

(philosophy) A theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes.

Noun

(en noun)

(biology) A discrete and complete living thing, such as animal, plant, fungus or microorganism.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}

(by extension) Any complex thing with properties normally associated with living things.