adding machine
noun
a machine capable of adding numbers and sometimes capable of performing the other arithmetic functions of subtraction, multiplication, and division: such machines are now obsolescent, having been replaced in most applications by electronic calculators.
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Nearby words
- addicted,
- addiction,
- addictive,
- addie,
- adding,
- addington,
- addington, henry,
- addio,
- addis ababa,
- addis count
Origin of adding machine
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for adding machine
To his marrow he was systematic; he was as definite as an adding-machine, as practical as a cash register.
Queed|Henry Sydnor HarrisonBut I could hug you for wanting to be a man, not an adding-machine!
The Book of Susan|Lee Wilson DoddThese he read off to Speyer, who in turn pressed the proper keys on the adding-machine––an endless, tedious, irritating task.
The Wall Street Girl|Frederick Orin Bartlett
adding machine
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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