machine

Syllables: ma·chine/məˈʃiːn//məˈʃin/

machine noun: a device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.

Image: James Albert Bonsack (1859 – 1924), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

machine (plural machines)

A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
- An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly)
(dated) A vehicle operated mechanically, such as an automobile or an airplane.
- As he stood directly beneath a brilliant arc light, waiting for a limousine that was approaching to pass him, he heard his name called in a sweet feminine voice. Looking up, he met the smiling eyes of Olga de Coude as she leaned forward upon the back seat of the machine. He bowed very low in...1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “What Happened in the Rue Maule”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published March 1915, →OCLC, pages 40–41
- As the aviator turned his machine to reconnoitre in the new direction, he was surprised to see the hostile aeroplane between him and his objective.1914 July, F. Britten Austin, “The Air-Scout”, in The Strand Magazine, volume XLVIII, London: George Newnes, Ltd., page 568
(abbreviation) An answering machine or, by extension, voice mail.
- I called you earlier, but all I got was the machine.
A computer.
- Game developers assume they're pushing the limits of the machine.
- He refuses to turn off his Linux machine.
(figuratively) A person or organisation that seemingly acts like a machine, being particularly efficient, single-minded, or unemotional.
- Bruce Campbell was a "demon-killing machine" because he made quick work of killing demons.
- The government has become a money-making machine.
Especially, the group that controls a political or similar organization; a combination of persons acting together for a common purpose, with the agencies which they use.
- The whole machine of government, civil and religious, ought never to bear upon the people with a weight so oppressive1828, Walter Savage Landor, “Rousseau and Malesherbes”, in Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen, volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC
Supernatural agency in a poem, or a superhuman being introduced to perform some exploit.
- I am apt to think, that the changing of the Trojan fleet into water-nymphs, which is the most violent machine in the whole Æneid[…]1712 May 1 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SUNDAY, April 21, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 351; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume IV, New...
(US) The system of special interest groups that supports a political party, especially in urban areas.
- A machine politician cannot see why the straight ticket (as he and his clique of party bosses prepare it) should not be voted by every citizen belonging to that party.1902, The Friend
- In essence, therefore, the right-fork strategy of the Democrats meant an alliance of the South with the political machines built on the non-Protestant immigrants in key Northeastern states.2006, Jerry F. Hough, Changing Party Coalitions: The Mystery of the Red State-blue State Alignment, Algora Publishing, →ISBN, page 37
(euphemistic, obsolete) Penis.
- He now reſumes his attempts in more form: firſt he put one of the pillows under me, to give the blank of his aim a more favourable elevation, and another under my head, in eaſe of it: then ſpreading my thighs, and placing himſelf ſtanding between them, made them reſt upon his hips: applying then...1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 107
(historical) A contrivance in the Ancient Greek theatre for indicating a change of scene, by means of which a god might cross the stage or deliver a divine message; the deus ex machina.
(obsolete) A bathing machine.
- One Machine only was provided for Bathers, the Limitted smoothness of the sands not extending widely enough to admit another.1823, Frances Burney, Journals and Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 512

Verb

machine (third-person singular simple present machines, present participle machining, simple past and past participle machined)

To make by machinery.
To shape or finish by machinery; (usually, more specifically) to shape subtractively by metal-cutting with machine-controlled toolpaths.
- Engineering materials have been recently developed whose hardness and strength are considerably increased, such that the cutting speed and the MRR tend to fall when machining such materials using traditional methods like turning, milling, grinding, and so on.2015, Helmi A. Youssef, Machining of Stainless Steels and Super Alloys, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 6

machine meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

machine in Hindi

mechanical or electrical device: यंत्र yantra

machine in Tamil

mechanical or electrical device: எந்திரம் entiram

machine in Marathi

mechanical or electrical device: यंत्र yantra, मशीन maśīn

machine in Urdu

mechanical or electrical device: آلَہ āla, مَشِین maśīn

More languagesFewer languages

machine in Bengali: মেশিন meśin, যন্ত্র jontro
machine in Telugu: యంత్రము yantramu
machine in Malayalam: യന്ത്രം yantraṁ
machine in Kannada: ಯಂತ್ರ yantra
machine in Punjabi: ਮਸ਼ੀਨ maśīn, ਜੰਤਰ jantar
machine in Gujarati: યંત્ર yantra, મશીન maśīn
machine in Odia: ଯନ୍ତ୍ର jantra
machine in Sanskrit: यन्त्र yantra
machine in Sinhala: යන්ත්රය yantraya
machine in Assamese: শাল xal, কল kol, যন্ত্ৰ zontro
machine in Pashto: ماشين māšin, آله āla
machine in Tagalog: makina, sigmo
machine in Arabic: آلَة ʔāla, مَاكِينَة mākīna
machine in Malay: mesin
machine in Indonesian: mesin, sawat, otomobil, gapah
machine in Persian: ماشین mâšin
machine in Thai: เครื่อง krʉ̂ʉang, กล gon, เครื่องจักร krʉ̂ʉang-jàk
machine in Vietnamese: máy, máy móc
machine in Myanmar: ယန္တရား yanta.ra:, စက် cak

Examples of machine in a sentence

Looking up, he met the smiling eyes of Olga de Coude as she leaned forward upon the back seat of the machine.1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “What Happened in the Rue Maule”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt...
"Right now, if this machine kicks over," Joe replied, putting down a wrench.1928, Franklin W. Dixon, The Missing Chums, Grosset & Dunlap, page 1:
He throws his leg over the machine and settles onto the narrow rubber seat.1976 August, David Laraway, “Weekends and Other Days: Loving at the edge of life”, in Edith Raymond Locke, editor, Mademoiselle, New York...
He was thrust into a political maelstrom for which he was ill-prepared, and yet he was, most notably, the Chicago machine's political savior.2013, Paul M. Green, Melvin G. Holli, The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition, fourth edition, SIU Press, →ISBN, page 126:

All 40 example sentences with machine

Synonyms of machine

engine

Forms of machine

Noun
plural	machines
Verb
third-person singular present	machines
present participle	machining
past participle	machined
past	machined

Past tense of machine: machined

Plural of machine: machines

Origin of machine

Borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina (“a machine, engine, contrivance, device, stratagem, trick”), from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́), cognate with Attic Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ, “a machine, engine, contrivance, device”), from which comes mechanical. Displaced native Old English searu.

Words formed from machine

Phrases with machine

143 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with machine

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about machine

What does machine mean?: Machine means a device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
What is machine in Hindi?: Machine in Hindi is यंत्र (yantra). See Machine meaning in Hindi.
How do you use machine in a sentence?: Looking up, he met the smiling eyes of Olga de Coude as she leaned forward upon the back seat of the machine.
What part of speech is machine?: Machine can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce machine?: Machine is pronounced /məˈʃiːn/ (UK).
What is the plural of machine?: The plural of machine is machines.

Words near machine in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: machine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-machine.ogg, en-us-machine.ogg.

Cite this entry: “machine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/machine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.