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machine

machine

328 3.4
An organized system that works well to reach its goals
  • noun
  • /məˈʃin/
translation icon : maquinaria
  • In times like these, I like to think of this company as a well-oiled machine, and we want to keep it that way.
  • a political machine
  • a party machine
  • a propaganda machine

It's just one big machine of brilliance.

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Examples

  • In the world of politics, a well-oiled machine can influence elections and policy decisions.

  • I'm trying to build the best marketing machine in the world.

  • The question is whether the entire machine is working well in given schools, districts, and states.

    Academic text (2013)
  • A person is more a cog in the State's machine than a free individual.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Significantly, Israel has built a mighty military machine that has been successful in overcoming many military threats.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The modern shops and factories of today still use mechanized machines to perform repetitive tasks.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The marketing team has created a powerful machine that drives sales and growth.

  • Our organization operates like a machine, efficiently coordinating tasks to achieve our objectives.

Synonyms

machinery
vsmachine
30 4.0

The systems and rules that make an organization or government work

is an organized group working efficiently to meet goals rather than abstract processes
well-oiled machine
vsmachine
9 3.7

A group or system in which all parts work together smoothly

is a general organized system aiming to achieve goals rather than only being smooth
political machine
vsmachine
7 6.5

A group that controls a political party and keeps power by giving favors

focuses on political control and influence rather than efficient goal achievement

Idioms

Become very confident about your looks and ready for love

Trying very hard even when facing a much stronger opponent

Compounds

A machine that picks up phone calls and records messages when people cannot talk

101 3.5

A large gun that fires many bullets very quickly, often used by soldiers

A machine that sells snacks or drinks when you put money in

A home device that cleans clothes using water and soap

time machine
  • Literature
30 6.5

An imaginary machine that lets a person go to the past or future

voting machine
  • Specialized
28 2.8

A machine that records and counts votes in an election

25 3.3

A machine in a casino where you put coins and spin pictures to try to win money

A machine that joins cloth or leather with thread

14 5.1

A nation's organized armed forces and weapons used for fighting

X-ray machine
  • Specialized
12 3.3

A machine that uses X rays to take pictures of the inside of the body or of bags

machine shop
  • Specialized
12 3.7

A workshop where people use tools to cut and shape metal or hard materials

9 1.9

A machine outside a bank where you take out money with a bank card and PIN

A group or system in which all parts work together smoothly

A machine that makes strong coffee by forcing hot water through finely ground beans

A coin-operated game with a tilted table where flippers keep a metal ball moving to score points

A country's armed forces that work together to fight wars

7 2.0

A device that makes and gives ice cubes

A group that controls a political party and keeps power by giving favors

6 2.9

A machine that makes copies of papers or pictures

machine tool
  • Specialized
4 3.9

A powered machine that cuts and shapes metal or other materials

machine learning
  • Specialized
4 4.7

A way for computers to learn from data and make predictions

tape machine
  • Archaic
4 3.2

A device that records or plays sound on magnetic tape

sex machine
  • Offensive
4 7.9

A person who others see as very attractive and confident with partners in private

A machine that helps a person get air into their lungs when they cannot do it on their own

dialysis machine
  • Specialized
4 3.5

A machine that removes waste and extra fluid from a person's blood when their kidneys fail

3 4.8

A soldier who uses a large automatic gun to fire many bullets

love machine
  • Informal
3 8.1

A person who easily attracts romantic interest, often said as a joke

heart-lung machine
  • Specialized
3 5.1

A machine used during heart surgery that pumps and adds oxygen to the blood

3 7.8

A small automatic handgun that fires many bullets very quickly

A business or product that makes a lot of money easily

3 9.9

A machine that runs forever without any extra energy

Enigma machine
  • Specialized
2 7.9

A machine used by Germany in World War II to send secret coded messages

adding machine
  • Archaic
2 3.9

A machine that adds and subtracts numbers used for money

A machine that gives you cash from your bank account when you use a bank card and secret number

A machine outside banks that gives cash and lets you do basic banking with a card and a code

machine code
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A set of instructions in numbers that a computer's processor can run directly

1 9.9

A machine that makes whole lines of metal letters from a keyboard for printing

1 9.9

A hidden bomb set to explode later to kill or hurt people

simple machine
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A basic tool like a lever or pulley that makes work easier by changing the force

knitting machine
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A machine that makes cloth from yarn by joining loops

A machine that covers paper or cards with a thin plastic layer to protect them

light machine gun
  • Specialized
1 4.9

An automatic gun that one soldier can carry and use

machine language
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A programming language made of 0s and 1s that a computer runs directly

machine translation
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A computer program that changes text or speech from one language into another

milking machine
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A tool that collects milk from cows

milling machine
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A tool with a spinning cutter that cuts and shapes metal and other hard materials

printing machine
  • Specialized
1 2.8

A machine that puts words and pictures onto paper

A machine that makes and stores sound or video

1 8.2

A machine like a sex toy or robot that gives sexual pleasure

Turing machine
  • Specialized
1 9.3

A simple machine that shows how a computer can work by reading and writing symbols on an endless tape

bathing machine
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small hut on wheels used on old beaches for changing clothes and entering the sea privately

1 5.9

A machine for doing math, often mechanical or early electronic

1 3.0

A device you use by putting coins into it to get a service

1 4.4

A machine that does calculations by itself, like an early computer

A machine that washes plates, pots, and cutlery by itself

1 4.9

A machine that copies a document and sends it by phone

lithograph machine
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A machine that makes prints by using a flat stone or metal plate to hold ink

love machine
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A device used for sexual pleasure

machine screw
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A metal screw with the same width along its length used with a nut or in a threaded hole

1 9.9

A machine that makes many paper copies by pressing ink through a stencil

paving machine
  • Specialized
1 3.6

A machine that spreads and smooths road or path surfaces

1 8.3

An early machine that counts and sorts information from cards with holes

1 8.8

A machine that types and prints messages sent over telegraph lines

telex machine
  • Archaic
1 9.6

A machine like a typewriter that sends typed messages over wires

1 4.7

A machine on a farm that separates grain from stalks and husks

stamping machine
  • Specialized
1 4.2

A machine that presses material like metal to make shapes or marks

A machine that fastens sheets of paper by pushing small metal clips through them

batting machine
  • Specialized
8.6

A machine that cleans fibers by removing stems and dirt from cotton, silk, or flax

blindstitch machine
  • Specialized
7.7

A machine that sews fabric edges with stitches you cannot see

7.9

A machine that sews hems so the stitches are not seen from the outside

blind stitch machine
  • Specialized
7.5

A sewing machine that joins fabric so the thread is not seen on the outside of clothes

blow molding machine
  • Specialized
6.3

A machine that makes hollow plastic items like bottles by heating plastic and using air to shape it

blanching machine
  • Specialized
5.8

A machine that briefly boils vegetables and fruit before cooling for freezing or canning

How Efficient

machine
328 3.4
system
2.7
organization
  • US
2.7
team
1.0
to group
38 1.2

Surface Forms

machine singular
machines plural

Etymology

A machine originally meant a device that works smoothly, so people began to call an organized system a machine when it runs like a well-made device. That's why a business or political machine means a group that works efficiently to reach its goals.