political machine
7
6.5
- noun
- /pəˈlɪtɪkəl məˈʃin/
:
máquina política
- Truman was a Midwest politician from the most powerful political machine in the country at that time.
- urban political machine
- well-oiled political machine
I don't know if he does or not because Chris Christie, you know, Chris Christie was like a perfect New Jersey political machine symbol.
- I don't know if he does or not because Chris Christie, you know, Chris Christie was like a perfect New Jersey political machine symbol.
Examples
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Indeed, David Barron has shown that the fear of big-city political machines meddling in private economic affairs was one of the central concerns of the home-rule movement.
Academic text (2016) -
It's now a battle between a political machine and a grassroots movement.
Blog text (7) -
I control enough of the political machine to carry some weight in a crisis.
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What would the Party gain with him at the top of its political machine?
Blog text (18) -
And so the political machine went into action.
Academic text (2003) -
William McKinley, Republican candidate, hard money man, gold standard man, with a pretty impressive political machine behind him.
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Most people are so fed up they don't want to be bothered by the political machine.
Blog text (28) -
To middle-class reformers, the urban political machines were an outrage.
Blog text (28) -
Miller's Crossing takes place in an unnamed Prohibition-era town ruled by a political machine that offers unofficial liquor and gaming licenses.
Academic text (2001) -
The political machine in Chicago has a long history of influencing local elections.
Synonyms
328
3.4
An organized system that works well to reach its goals
Antonyms
- Literature
7
5.1
A time when a country's government is unstable and many people protest
How Controlling
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partly inferable because 'machine' is commonly used metaphorically to mean an organized system or apparatus, so a learner who knows 'political' and the figurative use of 'machine' can guess it refers to an organized political apparatus. However, the specific connotations of patronage, hierarchical control, and party-dominant practices are culturally and lexically extended meanings that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure.
Etymology
The term political machine comes from the image of a real machine: many parts working together, each person a part that moves votes and jobs to keep things running. That's why political machine means 'a powerful, organized group that controls local politics'.