machinery

[muh-shee-nuh-ree]

noun

plural

machineries 

1. an assemblage of machines or mechanical apparatuses.

   the machinery of a factory.

2. the parts of a machine, collectively.

   the machinery of a watch.

3. a group of people or a system by which action is maintained or by which some result is obtained.

   the machinery of government.

   Synonyms: setup, structure, organization

4. a group of contrivances for producing stage effects.

5. the group or aggregate of literary machines, especially those of supernatural agency epic machinery in an epic poem.

machinery

/ məˈʃiːnərɪ /

noun

1. machines, machine parts, or machine systems collectively

2. a particular machine system or set of machines

3. a system similar to a machine

   the machinery of government

4. literary devices used for effect in epic poetry

Other Word Forms

• antimachinery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of machinery¹

First recorded in 1680–90; machine + -ery

Example Sentences

Canadian officials said this week that increasing business investment is near the top of policy priorities, after years of lackluster spending on machinery, equipment and software.

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Other key areas also faltered, including exports of industrial machinery and equipment, which declined for the first month in four.

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Actual pay and employment gaps weren’t easily eliminated, but the Act established legal machinery for change.

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Defense manufacturing startup Divergent Technologies is going beyond selling made-in-the-U.S. products by also making its own machinery.

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This time last year, for example, making Mama’s cheese-filled chicken meatballs often meant loading the needed machinery onto a truck for a more than 90-minute commute between factories in New York and New Jersey.

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Related Words

• apparatus 
• appliance 
• engine 
• equipment 
• gear 
• instrument 
• motor 
• system 
• tool 
• utensil 
• vehicle