Escapement

Escapement


es·cape·ment    Audio Help   (ĭ-skāp'mənt)  Pronunciation Key 


n.  
  1. A mechanism consisting in general of an escape wheel and an anchor, used especially in timepieces to control movement of the wheel and to provide periodic energy impulses to a pendulum or balance.
  2. A mechanism, as in a typewriter, that controls the lateral movement of the carriage.
    1. An escape.
    2. A means or way of escape.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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