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pinball machine

noun
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Definition of pinball machine

: an amusement device in which a ball propelled by a plunger scores points as it rolls down a slanting surface among pins and targets

— called also pinball game

Examples of pinball machine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The male found a pinball machine online and contacted the company to purchase it. — Bruce Geiselman, cleveland, "Police investigate thefts from parked cars: Westlake Police Blotter," 9 Jan. 2021 Below are 15 picks, from a $20 Foghat cap to a $9,500 GN’R pinball machine. — Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, "15 holiday gift ideas for rock music fans," 23 Nov. 2020 There’s something heartbreaking about an unlit pinball machine, those exuberant colors dormant and dulled in the arcade room. — Nick Rallo, Dallas News, "Survival of the sandwich shop: How 3 Dallas delis are getting by with hot dogs, brisket and burgers," 6 Nov. 2020 Conventional jazz harmony is religiously chord-based, with soloists improvising within each key like balls pinging through a pinball machine. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "The Radically Inclusive Music of Ornette Coleman," 5 June 2020 Online, the potential for endless 'whataboutery' is sending us back and forth like a furious pinball machine. — Lauren Bravo, refinery29.com, "Why Is Everyone Being A Bit Of A D*** Right Now?," 13 May 2020 The Brownsburg resident now owns 11 pinball machines. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "One guy has 6 pinball machines. The other guy 11. Both see a cause worth playing for.," 27 Feb. 2020 But who would have imagined that her cellar of curiosities would include a slot machine, Nipper the RCA dog and a pinball machine? — Los Angeles Times, "How Patti LuPone rescues her quarantined fans on Twitter," 2 Apr. 2020 Those companies had already established long-standing relationships with bars and restaurants by providing them with pool tables, pinball machines and other amusements, including gray games. — Jason Grotto, ProPublica, "Beginner’s Luck: How One Video Gambling Company Worked the Odds and Took Over a State," 3 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pinball machine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of pinball machine

1936, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for pinball machine

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The first known use of pinball machine was in 1936

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Statistics for pinball machine

Last Updated

18 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Pinball machine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinball%20machine. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021.

More from Merriam-Webster on pinball machine

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pinball machine

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