like clockwork
Meaning
Happening regularly, predictably, and reliably, often at the expected time or in the expected way.
Origin
From the image of a well-made clock mechanism that runs with steady, precise regularity; recorded in English from the 1800s to describe dependable repetition.
Notes
Usually positive for reliability and punctuality, but can be ironic when something bad happens predictably. Common in speech and writing; focuses on regular timing/consistency.
Examples
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Every morning at 6:30, the neighbor’s dog starts barking like clockwork.
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The payroll deposits hit my account on the first of the month like clockwork.
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As soon as the meeting ends, he calls his assistant like clockwork.
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Once winter arrives, my skin gets dry like clockwork.
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We practiced the drill so many times that the evacuation ran like clockwork.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Most often used as an adverbial phrase: “works/runs/arrives like clockwork.” Also “(like) clockwork” as a noun phrase meaning predictable regularity (“every week, like clockwork”). Article “a” is not used.
Synonyms
- regularly
- reliably
- predictably
- punctually
- with metronomic regularity
Antonyms
- sporadically
- irregularly
- unpredictably
- erratically
- at random