money machine
3
4.1
- noun
:
máquina de hacer dinero
- After the rebranding, the restaurant became a money machine, generating income effortlessly.
- create a money machine
Examples
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Many consider the latest smartphone a money machine due to its high demand and low production costs.
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You play a key role in the magic money machine.
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This is the magic money machine.
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So, let's keep that money machine rolling.
Fiction book (1991) -
I have no doubt that the post-Jobs Apple is nothing more than a money machine operated by shareholders and accountants.
Blog text (25) -
As much as a quarter of our best and brightest are being lured by the siren call of the money machine.
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Of course, big pharma is an out-of-control monster, but I would also say that it's less to do with a conspiracy to keep everyone sick and rather more to do with it being a self-perpetuating money machine.
Blog text (28) -
The new online course is a money machine, bringing in profits with minimal investment.
Synonyms
18
3.8
A business or product that gives steady high income with little work
8
4.1
A project or business that earns a lot of money regularly
8
3.2
Money someone earns with little work
A situation that lets someone make a lot of money with little work
A way to get easy regular money with little work
A business or product that makes a lot of money
Antonyms
How Lucrative
- UK
3
4.1
- UK
18
3.8
191
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'an enterprise that generates money' is directly derivable from combining 'money' (currency/wealth) with 'machine' (a device or system that produces something) — literally a machine that makes money. This clear noun-noun compounding and its productive metaphorical pattern are easy to map for learners who know both constituents, so a B1 learner would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The compound money machine creates a simple image: imagine a machine that produces money with almost no work. That's why it means 'an enterprise that makes a lot of money with little effort'.