machinery

noun

ma·​chin·​ery mə-ˈshē-nə-rē 

-ˈshēn-rē

plural machineries

1

a

: machines in general or as a functioning unit

b

: the working parts of a machine

2

: the means or system by which something is kept in action or a desired result is obtained

the machinery of government

Synonyms of machinery

• instrumentality
• vehicle
• instrument
• means
• agent
• mechanism
• organ

Examples of machinery in a Sentence

Some of the mill's machinery was damaged in the fire.

a piece of farm machinery

Something was clogging the machinery.

The United Nations has set up machinery for mediation.

Recent Examples on the Web

The modest growth was partly driven by robust investment in data center machinery and equipment, the statistics bureau said. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 June 2026

Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing. —ABC News, 3 June 2026

In the years after her death, the visible machinery of wealth continued functioning even as the structure of the household became increasingly unstable. —Kate Casey, Vanity Fair, 2 June 2026

Meanwhile, Sanz-Royo and her colleagues also put three of the teeth into fancy lab machinery to simulate millennia of burial. —ArsTechnica, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for machinery

• deanery
• greenery
• scenery
• turbomachinery

Kids Definition

machinery

noun

ma·​chin·​ery mə-ˈshēn-(ə-)rē 

plural machineries

1

: machines in general

2

: the working parts of a machine or instrument

3

: the organization or system by which something is done or carried on

machinery of government