war machine
14
5.1
- noun
- /wɔr məˈʃin/
:
máquina de guerra
- As tensions rose, many nations began to bolster their war machine in preparation for potential conflict.
Union war machine indeed, in order to win a war, had become a modern monster.
- Union war machine indeed, in order to win a war, had become a modern monster.
- And they were, you know, the German war machine was was slowly grinding to what would eventually be its, its demise.
- The reason is that the they knew that the war machine did not benefit from squeaky wheels.
- Or do they want to be stockpiling stuff in the background, even if just because of the war machine?
- Britain dismantles its war machine, cancels its, you know, nascent computing operations.
Examples
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The devastating impact of sanctions was meant to weaken the enemy's war machine.
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The engine of the Carthaginian war machine first began turning with the call to war.
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You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine.
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They've got a better war machine.
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Commander orders the assault and now we can kind of just watch as the Roman war machine pushes forward.
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We are up against the third-largest war machine in the world, with the resources of 880 million people behind it.
Academic text (1995) -
Within months, America had become a war machine, cranking out ships, tanks, guns, airplanes, and trained troops.
Blog text (29) -
In company with our brave allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
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The Allies combined their resources to dismantle the German war machine during World War II.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
A group of soldiers who fight for and protect a country
190
2.3
The military groups of a country, like the army, navy and air force
9
3.0
The military groups of a country, like the army, navy, and air force
7
4.0
A country's armed forces that work together to fight wars
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'organized armed forces and military resources' is directly derivable from combining 'war' (armed conflict) with 'machine' viewed metaphorically as an organized apparatus or system — effectively 'a machine for war'. This is a transparent, compositional metaphor common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
War machine comes from the image of many soldiers, ships, and guns working together like the parts of a machine. So the phrase means a nation's organized military 'power' used for fighting.