Pronunciations (4)
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/məˈʃiːn/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/məˈʃin/
Pronunciation notes
- Canada
- General-American
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/məˈʃiːn/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- New-Zealand
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məˈʃin
Pronunciation notes
- US
Noun
A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
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More examples (1)
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.
A vehicle operated mechanically, such as an automobile or an airplane.
Usage- Dated
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More examples (1)
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 response to her friendly greeting. When he straightened up the machine had borne her away.
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.
More examples (2)
"Joe, how soon will you be ready to roll?" Frank Hardy burst into the garage where his brother was working on a sleek, black-and-silver motorcycle. "Right now, if this machine kicks over," Joe replied, putting down a wrench.
Now, here, he is a Racer. He throws his leg over the machine and settles onto the narrow rubber seat. He pushes it through its revolution twice with his hand, slowly, to force the fuel into the carburetor. Then he stands with his left foot on the peg and jumps down on the lever with his right. The engine starts immediately; he takes very good care of his machine. He sits down, waiting for it to warm up. He caresses the top of the tank, understanding that the machine cannot feel the gesture but content that he can.
An answering machine or, by extension, voice mail.
Usage- abbreviation
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I called you earlier, but all I got was the machine.
A computer.
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Game developers assume they're pushing the limits of the machine.
He refuses to turn off his Linux machine.
A person or organisation that seemingly acts like a machine, being particularly efficient, single-minded, or unemotional.
Usage- Figurative
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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.
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The whole machine of government, civil and religious, ought never to bear upon the people with a weight so oppressive
Supernatural agency in a poem, or a superhuman being introduced to perform some exploit.
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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[…]
The system of special interest groups that supports a political party, especially in urban areas.
Usage- US usage
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More examples (2)
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.
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.
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.
Penis.
Usage- euphemistic
- Obsolete
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More examples (1)
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 the point of his machine to the ſlit, into which he ſought entrance;
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.
Usage- Historical
A bathing machine.
Usage- Obsolete
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One Machine only was provided for Bathers, the Limitted smoothness of the sands not extending widely enough to admit another.
Verb
To make by machinery.
To shape or finish by machinery; (usually, more specifically) to shape subtractively by metal-cutting with machine-controlled toolpaths.
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More examples (1)
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.
Noun
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
- Broader terms
an efficient person
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the boxer was a magnificent fighting machine
an intricate organization that accomplishes its goals efficiently
- Broader terms
- Examples
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the war machine
a device for overcoming resistance at one point by applying force at some other point
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
a group that controls the activities of a political party
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
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he was endorsed by the Democratic machine
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
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- Broader terms
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he needs a car to get to work
Verb
turn, shape, mold, or otherwise finish by machinery
make by machinery
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The Americans were machining while others still hand-made cars