clockwork

 
Pronunciation: /ˈklɒkwəːk/

noun

[mass noun]
  • a mechanism with a spring and toothed gearwheels, used to drive a mechanical clock, toy, or other device: quartz watches are more accurate than those driven by clockwork

adjective

[attributive]
  • driven by clockwork: a clockwork motor
  • very smooth and regular: the clockwork precision of the galaxy
  • repetitive and predictable: it was a clockwork existence for the children

Phrases

as regular as clockwork

very regularly; repeatedly and predictably: she used to give me these chocolates Christmas and Easter, as regular as clockwork

like clockwork

very smoothly and easily: the event ran like clockwork
with mechanical regularity: these hens lay like clockwork