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system

Syllabification: (sys·tem)
Pronunciation: /ˈsistəm/
Translate system | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of system

noun

  • 1a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.
  • a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network:the state railroad system fluid is pushed through a system of pipes or channels
  • Physiology a set of organs in the body with a common structure or function:the digestive system
  • the human or animal body as a whole:you need to get the cholesterol out of your system
  • Computing a group of related hardware units or programs or both, especially when dedicated to a single application.
  • Geology (in chronostratigraphy) a major range of strata that corresponds to a period in time, subdivided into series.
  • Astronomy a group of celestial objects connected by their mutual attractive forces, especially moving in orbits about a center:the system of bright stars known as the Gould Belt
  • short for crystal system.
  • 2a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method:a multiparty system of government the public school system
  • orderliness; method:there was no system at all in the company
  • a method of choosing one’s procedure in gambling.
  • a set of rules used in measurement or classification:the metric system
  • (the system) the prevailing political or social order, especially when regarded as oppressive and intransigent:don’t try bucking the system
  • 3 Music a set of staves in a musical score joined by a brace.

Phrases

get something out of one's system

informal get rid of a preoccupation or anxiety:she let her get the crying out of her system

Derivatives

systemless

adjective

Origin:

early 17th century: from French système or late Latin systema, from Greek sustēma, from sun- 'with' + histanai 'set up'

system in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of system in the British & World English dictionary
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