system
n. countablen. a group of related parts that work together to do a specific job. You also use this word to describe an organised set of rules or a standard way of doing things.
n. a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, or an organised set of principles and procedures. It frequently describes both physical networks and abstract frameworks.
The school has a new system for tracking student attendance.
The city's public transport system relies heavily on a network of underground trains and electric buses.
The philosopher argued that any political system must carefully balance individual liberties with the collective needs of the society it governs.
Partly borrowed from Middle French sisteme, systeme, partly directly from its etymon Late Latin systēma (“harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects; set of troops; system”), from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “musical scale; organized body; whole made of several parts or members”), from σῠνίστημῐ (sŭnístēmĭ, “to combine, organize”) + -μᾰ (-mă, resultative suffix). σῠνίστημῐ is from σῠν- (sŭn-, “with, together”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”). Cognate with Dutch systeem, modern French système, German System, Italian sistema, Portuguese sistema, Spanish sistema. Doublet of systema.
Frequently preceded by a classifying noun or adjective to specify the domain, such as 'operating system', 'solar system', or 'digestive system'.