vending machine

noun

: a coin-operated machine for selling merchandise

Examples of vending machine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the lobby of the Anthropic event, the company proudly displayed a vending machine called Project Vend, which is run entirely by Claude, serving as an experiment into whether AI can operate like independent entrepreneurs in the real world. Andrew R. Chow, Time, 16 Sep. 2025 In order to sell tobacco, the bar must generate at least 15% of its income from the sale of cigars or pipe tobacco, which cannot come from a vending machine. Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025 The point is to position AI as a generator of possibilities, not a vending machine of answers. Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025 Viral success Inciardi launched her first vending machine filled with linocut prints of food in 2022 as a way to get quarters for her laundry machine. Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for vending machine

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of vending machine was circa 1895

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vending machine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vending%20machine. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

vending machine

noun
: a machine from which one may get merchandise after putting in coins

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