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oracle machine

oracle machine noun: in computability theory, a form of theoretical Turing machine, able to solve even undecidable decision problems in a single operation.

Noun

oracle machine (plural oracle machines)

  1. In computability theory, a form of theoretical Turing machine, able to solve even undecidable decision problems in a single operation.
    • See also: o-machine
    • Thus, an oracle machine (which enacts an oracle algorithm) would be like an ordinary Turing machine, except that adjoined to its ordinary computational operations would be another operation: ‘Call in the oracle and ask it whether C_q(n) stops; […]1994, Roger Penrose, “Quantum theory and the brain”, in Shadows of the Mind, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 380

Forms of oracle machine

pluraloracle machines

Questions about oracle machine

What does oracle machine mean?
Oracle machine means in computability theory, a form of theoretical Turing machine, able to solve even undecidable decision problems in a single operation.
What part of speech is oracle machine?
Oracle machine is a noun.
What is the plural of oracle machine?
The plural of oracle machine is oracle machines.

Words near oracle machine in the dictionary

  1. oracle bone
  2. oracle bone script
  3. oracle bones
  4. oracle card
  5. oracle cards
  6. oracle machine
  7. oracle machines
  8. oracled
  9. oraclelike
  10. oracles
  11. oracling

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: oracle 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.

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