inner workings

plural noun

: the parts (of something) that are only known by the people who work on it
He wanted to experience the inner workings of the political campaign.

Examples of inner workings in a Sentence

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Bright blue stars dot the spiral's side, with one particularly luminous star taking the spotlight with four diffraction spikes — created by light bending through the inner workings of Hubble's camera — emanating from its center. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026 In fact, it is rooted in the same rhetoric as the black box metaphor, which similarly blurs the complex aspects of AI by framing inner workings as confined and unintelligible. — Trent Wintermeier, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026 Johnson, who has grown up in the business as the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, is no stranger to the inner workings of Hollywood. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The Wine Lounge offers a taste of both the wines and olive oils that are made on-site, with winery tours available for those who want to go a bit deeper into the inner workings of the wine-making process. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inner workings

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Cite this Entry

“Inner workings.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inner%20workings. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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