contraption
Jury-rigged machine
A contraption is a machine or device that appears awkward, complicated, or improvised.
The word carries a tone of skepticism or bemusement about whether the thing will actually work: He built some kind of contraption to keep squirrels off the bird feeder.
Contraptions are often homemade or jury-rigged, assembled from whatever parts were available rather than professionally engineered.
Novel small device
- gizmoNameless mechanical device
- apparatusEquipment for a task
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- machinePower-driven working device
widget · thingamajig · doohickey · whatchamacallit · doodad · invention · rig · setup
Toothed rotating machine parts
- pulleysGrooved wheels for rope
- leversForce-multiplying pivot bars
- cogsProjections on a wheel
- sprocketsToothed wheels for chains
pistons · cranks · valves · springs · wheels · belts · chains · ratchets
Temporarily fixed with scraps
- cobbled-togetherAssembled from random parts
- improvisedCreated without prior planning
- ramshackleBadly deteriorated from neglect
- ricketyUnsteady, liable to collapse
homemade · DIY · hacked · patched · kludge · bodge · lash-up · thrown-together
Playfully fanciful or erratic
- eccentricUnconventional in character
- bizarreStrikingly unconventional
- peculiarStrangely unusual
- outlandishStrikingly weird or foreign-seeming
zany · oddball · wacky · harebrained · cockamamie · crazy · fantastical · absurd
Hobbyist who adjusts mechanisms
- workshopPlace for making or learning
- garageEnclosed vehicle storage structure
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- schematicSimplified technical diagram
prototype · experiment · brainchild · creation · handiwork · ingenuity · cleverness · resourcefulness
gadget
Novel small device
- gizmoNameless mechanical device
- apparatusEquipment for a task
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
machine · widget · thingamajig · doohickey · whatchamacallit · doodad · invention · rig · setup · appliance
gears
Toothed rotating machine parts
sprockets · pistons · cranks · valves · springs · wheels · belts · chains · ratchets · hinges
jury-rigged
Temporarily fixed with scraps
- cobbled-togetherAssembled from random parts
- improvisedCreated without prior planning
- ramshackleBadly deteriorated from neglect
rickety · homemade · DIY · hacked · patched · kludge · bodge · lash-up · thrown-together · ad-hoc
whimsical
Playfully fanciful or erratic
outlandish · zany · oddball · wacky · harebrained · cockamamie · crazy · fantastical · absurd · improbable
tinkerer
Hobbyist who adjusts mechanisms
- workshopPlace for making or learning
- garageEnclosed vehicle storage structure
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
schematic · prototype · experiment · brainchild · creation · handiwork · ingenuity · cleverness · resourcefulness · wizardry
- thingsthing, object, item, stuff, article
- machineryengine, machinery, industrial machinery, motors, engines
- Inventinginvention, inventor, prototype, patent, blueprint
- Resourcefulnessresourcefulness, ingenuity, cleverness, inventiveness, problem-solving
- thingamajigsthingamajig, thingamabob, whatchamacallit, doohickey, doodad
- placeholdersplaceholder, bar, blank, dummy, filler