mech
n. countablen. a large robot that a person sits inside to control. You usually see these in science fiction movies, video games, or cartoons.
n. a large, piloted robotic vehicle, typically humanoid in form, featured prominently in science fiction and gaming contexts. Often used as a shorthand for 'mecha'.
The pilot climbed into the mech to start the mission.
In many futuristic strategy games, players must customize their mech with heavy armor and long-range weapons to survive the battlefield.
The narrative explores the psychological bond between the pilot and the mech, suggesting that the machine is less a tool and more an extension of the operator's own nervous system.
Ultimately from mechanical, mechanic, perhaps via mecha.
Commonly used in science fiction and gaming subcultures; often functions as a collective noun for the genre itself when used as 'mecha'.