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.
Meanwhile, bootstrapped with $25,000 in savings — of which 85% went to building the first vending machine — Saunders geared up to launch his company. Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026 Art plays a central role in the lobby, which hosts rotating exhibits on walls and in display cases, and a charming art vending machine dispenses palm-size pieces for a few dollars. AFAR Media, 30 Dec. 2025 For now, riders can still use cash to purchase OMNY cards for $1 at vending machines at subways and at retailers across the city. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 28 Dec. 2025 In order to sell tobacco, the bar would have needed to generate at least 15% of its income from the sale of cigars or pipe tobacco, which could not come from a vending machine. Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 5 Dec. 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 8 Jan. 2026.

Kids Definition

vending machine

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

More from Merriam-Webster on vending machine

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