machine

1 of 2

noun

ma·​chine mə-ˈshēn 

plural machines

1

a

: a mechanically, electrically, or electronically operated device for performing a task

an espresso machine

The store sold treadmills and other exercise machines.

… manufactures machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals …

—Rosie Fitzmaurice

b

: conveyance, vehicle

especially : automobile

Throughout the auto industry, the move is toward bigger engines and seductive ad campaigns pitched at motorists who yearn for the thrill of driving a mean machine.

—David Pauly et al.

c

: a coin-operated device

a snack machine

d(1)

: an assemblage (see assemblage sense 1) of parts that transmit forces, motion, and energy one to another in a predetermined manner

(2)

: an instrument (such as a lever) designed to transmit or modify the application of power, force, or motion

e

: any of various apparatuses formerly used to produce stage effects

f

: computer

especially : personal computer

You might think that your files are safe on your Mac and Windows machine. But hard drives are not perfect. Data can become corrupted, and it's easy to delete the wrong files by mistake.

—Andrew Uh

A firm-owned laptop is configured with the security software and applications the user needs to perform their job. Relocating the laptop to the home network preserves the security of the computer, making it safer to use than the typical home machine.

—Sharon D. Nelson and John W. Simek

2

a

: someone or something that resembles a machine (as in being methodical, tireless, or consistently productive)

… a gifted publicist and quote machine …

—John Lancaster

Dan Reeves's Falcons weren't given much of a chance against the Vikings, the top scoring machine of all time.

—Paul Zimmerman

b(1)

: a combination of persons acting together for a common end along with the agencies they use

The Homefront tells the fascinating story of how America transformed itself in the years 1941-45 from a society mired in depression into a war machine more powerful than any the world had yet known.

—Stanley Marcus

From the first months of the war, each nation's propaganda machine encouraged its citizens to lionize their aces—those pilots having five or more victories.

—Howard G. Fisher

If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth …

—Henry David Thoreau

(2)

: a highly organized political group under the leadership of a boss (see boss entry 1 sense 2) or small group of individuals

a politician who challenged the local party machine

c

: a living organism or one of its functional systems

If fame means parading the inevitable ravages that time and excess wreak on the human machine, I'd just as soon do that in private.

—Stanley Bing

3

: a literary device or contrivance (such as a supernatural being or event) introduced for dramatic effect

4

a

archaic : a constructed thing whether material or immaterial : structure

… those supporters and pillars, upon whom the frame and machine of the building was grounded …

—John Stow and Anthony Munday

… with what beauty, art and contrivance, particular creatures are made, and how the several parts of this great machine are fitted to each other, and make a regular and uniform world …

—William Sherlock

b

archaic : a military engine (such as a catapult)

machine

2 of 2

verb

machined; machining

transitive verb

: to process by or as if by machine

especially : to reduce or finish by or as if by turning, shaping, planing, or milling by machine-operated tools

machinability noun

or less commonly machineability

mə-ˌshē-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

machinable adjective

or less commonly machineable

mə-ˈshē-nə-bəl 

Synonyms

Noun

• engine
• motor

Examples of machine in a Sentence

Noun

Shovels are tools; bulldozers are machines.

Do you know how to operate this machine?

The machine is working properly.

He was bragging about his new machine.

The coach turned the team into a scoring machine.

My younger brother is an eating machine.

a politician who dared to challenge the local party machine

Their army is a well-oiled machine.

Verb

The parts of the engine have been precisely machined.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The company is planning a series of pop-up shops where licensed products will be showcased and personalized gifts, ribbon machines, coffee or hot chocolate carts will be offered to create a holiday atmosphere. —Jean E. Palmieri, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024

The mainframe computer, the personal computer, the Internet, data science, machine learning, and large language models have made possible astounding advances in scientific research, communication, education, public health, and a thousand other realms of human endeavor. —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Verb

The outsize date complication, meanwhile, has come to define Lange’s aesthetic, but its positioning on the dial is equally important: Located at 1 o’clock, its window is proportioned according to the golden mean of 1.618 and is machined from the same metal as the watch case. —Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2024

Will they not only be moved by a fairy tale machined for a big, bad tech guy, the toughest of antiheroes to side with, but also believe that a nonhuman intelligence can capably capture and compel their imaginations? —Randy Boyagoda, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French, from Latin machina, from Greek mēchanē (Doric dialect machana), from mēchos means, expedient — more at may entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1545, in the meaning defined at sense 4a

Verb

1853, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing machine

• answering machine
• automated teller machine
• automatic teller machine
• bank machine
• Browning machine gun
• by machine
• cash machine
• coffee machine
• copy machine
• dictating machine
• doomsday machine
• drum machine
• flying machine
• fruit machine
• ground-effect machine
• heart-lung machine
• infernal machine
• machine gun
• machine-gunner
• machine language
• machine learning
• machine of government
• machine pistol
• machine-readable
• machine shop
• machine tool
• machine washable
• milling machine
• photocopy machine
• photostat machine
• pinball machine
• propaganda machine
• reinforcement machine learning
• rowing machine
• sewing machine
• simple machine
• slot machine
• supervised machine learning
• talking machine
• threshing machine
• time machine
• Turing machine
• unsupervised machine learning
• vending machine
• voting machine
• war machine
• washing machine
• wayback machine
• weight machine

Kids Definition

machine

1 of 2 noun

ma·​chine mə-ˈshēn 

1

a

: vehicle sense 2

especially : automobile entry 2

b

: a combination of parts that transmit forces, motion, and energy to do some desired work

a sewing machine

c

: an instrument (as a lever or pulley) designed to transmit or change slightly the application of power, force, or motion

2

: an organized group that controls a political party

machinelike

-ˌlīk

adjective

machine

2 of 2 verb

machined; machining

: to shape or finish by machine-operated tools

machinable

mə-ˈshē-nə-bəl

adjective