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machine

machine

119 7.2
A person who works very quickly and without stopping
  • noun
  • /məˈʃin/
  • Informal
: máquina
  • This guy is a machine.
  • killing machine
  • a human machine

The kids are as near to machines as the coach can make them.

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Examples

  • And we are just incentive machines like human beings.

  • He had become a machine, like in his thinking.

  • We are people, but we're just machines anyway.

  • I am the master, and you are the machine.

  • My mind rattled on fast as a machine sometimes, ran its own way without my participation.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Human beings, if they have to be modeled as machines, are nontrivial machines.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Despite the challenges, he tackled every project like a machine, showing no signs of fatigue.

  • Her productivity was so impressive that everyone referred to her as a machine for getting work done.

  • In the gym, he trains like a machine, pushing through every set without rest.

Synonyms

workhorse
vsmachine
11 3.5

A person or machine that does a lot of steady hard work

is about extreme efficiency and relentlessness at a single task

Antonyms

slacker
  • Offensive
19 4.6

A person who avoids work and often does very little

Idioms

Become very confident about your looks and ready for love

Trying very hard even when facing a much stronger opponent

Compounds

128 3.5

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

time machine
  • Literature
107 6.5

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

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

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

A home device that cleans clothes using water and soap

voting machine
  • Specialized
36 2.8

A machine that records and counts votes in an election

30 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

19 5.1

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

X-ray machine
  • Specialized
15 3.3

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

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

machine shop
  • Specialized
13 3.7

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

13 2.0

A device that makes and gives ice cubes

A group or system in which all parts work together smoothly

10 1.9

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

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

A business or product that makes a lot of money easily

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

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

sex machine
  • Offensive
8 7.9

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

6 2.9

A machine that makes copies of papers or pictures

machine learning
  • Specialized
6 4.7

A way for computers to learn from data and make predictions

tape machine
  • Archaic
5 3.2

A device that records or plays sound on magnetic tape

machine tool
  • Specialized
5 3.9

A powered machine that cuts and shapes metal or other materials

dialysis machine
  • Specialized
4 3.5

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

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

heart-lung machine
  • Specialized
4 5.1

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

4 9.9

A machine that runs forever without any extra energy

adding machine
  • Archaic
4 3.9

A machine that adds and subtracts numbers used for money

love machine
  • Informal
3 8.1

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

3 4.8

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

3 7.8

A small automatic handgun that fires many bullets very quickly

Enigma machine
  • Specialized
3 7.9

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

2 8.2

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

machine code
  • Specialized
2 4.9

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

love machine
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A device used for sexual pleasure

Turing machine
  • Specialized
2 9.3

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

2 9.9

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

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

2 8.1

A person who has many children in a short time, often said as a joke

milking machine
  • Specialized
2 3.4

A tool that collects milk from cows

machine language
  • Specialized
1 5.8

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

A machine that makes and stores sound or video

light machine gun
  • Specialized
1 4.9

An automatic gun that one soldier can carry and use

1 9.9

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

simple machine
  • Specialized
1 3.4

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

machine translation
  • Specialized
1 3.5

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

1 2.7

A vehicle like a tractor that helps plow, plant, or harvest crops on a farm

knitting machine
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A machine that makes cloth from yarn by joining loops

printing machine
  • Specialized
1 2.8

A machine that puts words and pictures onto paper

milling machine
  • Specialized
1 5.6

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

1 4.4

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

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

1 2.5

A machine that shows how heavy a person or thing is

1 6.4

A belt-fed machine gun used by US forces in World War II and the Korean War

1 9.0

A joking name for a baby or animal that often causes many dirty diapers

1 8.8

A machine that types and prints messages sent over telegraph lines

1 4.7

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

1 3.0

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

machine politician
  • Offensive
1 7.3

A person in politics who serves a powerful party group for personal gain

stamping machine
  • Specialized
1 4.2

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

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

lithograph machine
  • Specialized
1 7.6

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

1 8.3

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

1 5.9

A machine for doing math, often mechanical or early electronic

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

1 9.9

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

1 4.9

A machine that copies a document and sends it by phone

bathing machine
  • Archaic
1 9.9

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

telex machine
  • Archaic
1 9.6

A machine like a typewriter that sends typed messages over wires

von Neumann machine
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A computer that stores programs and data together in memory and runs instructions one after another

paving machine
  • Specialized
1 3.6

A machine that spreads and smooths road or path surfaces

How Efficient

machine
  • Informal
119 7.2
expert
∞ 3.2
professional
435 3.7
worker
∞ 1.0
amateur
132 2.8

Surface Forms

machine singular
machines plural

Etymology

Calling someone a machine uses the same idea: the word comes from a word for a device, so a person described as a machine works with great power and steady speed, almost without stopping. This explains why it means a very efficient or relentless worker.