machinery

noun

ma·​chin·​ery mə-ˈshē-nə-rē How to pronounce machinery (audio)
-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

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 white trailer blends into the winter landscape at SKB Environmental’s landfill, but inside, machinery is working to capture one of the most pervasive environmental pollutants of our time. Chloe Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 Nvidia’s wealth comes from designing the most vital part of AI machinery: computer chips. Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2024 The most common causes of injuries include fires, falls, fatigue, machinery malfunctions, and lack of safety culture on rigs. Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 His maiden speech in the House of Lords, in 1812, is still a clarion call: a rousing defense of the Luddites, who had smashed machinery that was taking over their jobs and were facing the death penalty. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 New chip factories are hugely complex, involving thousands of construction workers, long construction timelines and billions of dollars of machinery. Ana Swanson, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024 What baffles many observers is not the predictable repression of Russia’s state machinery, which reliably put Mr. Navalny out of political action more or less permanently. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Feb. 2024 The machinery tore the child’s forearm, causing significant blood loss and severe lacerations, according to the complaint. Melissa Alonso, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024 Around the time that Doudna’s team was unraveling the machinery of CRISPR, a bioengineer at Wake Forest University named Graça Almeida-Porada came to MacKenzie to vent. Megan Molteni, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'machinery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of machinery was in 1731

Dictionary Entries Near machinery

Cite this Entry

“Machinery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/machinery. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

machinery

noun
ma·​chin·​ery mə-ˈshēn-(ə-)rē How to pronounce machinery (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on machinery

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