conveyor belt

American  

noun

Machinery.

1. an endless belt or chain, set of rollers, etc., for carrying materials or objects short distances, as from one part of a building to another.

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conveyor belt British  

noun

1. a flexible endless strip of fabric or linked plates driven by rollers and used to transport objects, esp in a factory

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Etymology

Origin of conveyor belt

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

On the way down from that vantage point, Upper Yosemite Falls Trail, which was practically empty at 9 a.m., had turned into a human conveyor belt by 11 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

As it sinks, it pulls heat, carbon and nutrients downward, helping drive a global system of currents sometimes described as a conveyor belt.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026

Hundreds of discarded batteries rattle along a conveyor belt into a crusher in a remote plant in northern India, fuelling a multi-billion-dollar industry that is bolstering the country's geopolitical ambitions.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

Stolz, 21, is just the latest contender to roll off the conveyor belt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

I watched luggage roll past on a conveyor belt behind her.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin