Meaning & use
system
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Meanings
nouncountable
A group of parts that work together to form a whole or carry out a function.
Grammar: Usually takes an or the: the heating system.
Patterns
- a system for something
- the system of something
The city built a new subway system to cut traffic.
The solar system includes eight planets.
Our heating system broke down in January.
nouncountable
An organized way of doing something, with rules or steps to follow.
Grammar: Often followed by for: a system for filing.
Patterns
- a system for doing something
- a system of something
I use a color-coded system to organize my notes.
The school has a points system for rewarding good behavior.
The judge explained how the voting system works.
nouncountablebiology
A set of organs or structures in the body that work together, such as the digestive system.
Grammar: Usually named by function: nervous system.
Patterns
- the something system
Exercise strengthens the immune system.
The digestive system breaks down food.
The doctor checked her nervous system.
nounsingularinformal
The established social, political or economic order that people feel they must deal with, often with the.
Grammar: Used with the: beat the system, work within the system.
Patterns
- beat the system
- work within the system
She felt the system was stacked against small farmers.
He tried to beat the system by finding a loophole.
Reforming the system takes years.
Word forms
| plural | systems |
|---|
Common combinations
- operating system
- The update requires a new operating system.
- education system
- The country invested heavily in its education system.
- immune system
- A good diet supports your immune system.
- security system
- They installed a security system after the break-in.
- belief system
- Every culture has its own belief system.
- beat the system
- He joked that he had found a way to beat the system.
Synonyms and how they differ
- network
- Network stresses the links between connected parts, while system stresses how they work as a whole.
- method
- Method is one way of doing a task, whereas system suggests a larger organized structure.
- structure
- Structure focuses on how parts are arranged, not on how they function together.
- scheme
- Scheme is a plan or arrangement, often a British word, and can imply a hidden motive.
Opposites
Word family
- systematic adjective
- done in an organized, step-by-step way
- systemic adjective
- affecting a whole system or body
- systematize verb
- to arrange in an organized way
- systematically adverb
- in an organized way
Commonly confused: system or systematic? system or systemic?
system vs systematic
Systematic describes something done by a method, while system is the structure or method itself.
system vs systemic
Systemic means affecting the whole of a system, as in systemic problems.
Practice
The librarian invented a simple ___ for sorting the returned books by color.
Choose one answer.
A system is an organized method. The other words, symptom, syllable and symbol, do not describe a way of sorting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “system”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.