coin-operated
Americanadjective
noun
-
a coin-operated machine.
-
a place with such machines, especially a self-service laundry.
Etymology
Origin of coin-operated
First recorded in 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There’s an Irish airline executive named Michael O’Leary who so loves upcharges and cost-cutting that, over the years, he has floated selling standing-room flights, charging overweight passengers more, and installing coin-operated restrooms.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
The “coffee-machine story” was a recounting of the finicky 1970s coin-operated coffee machine in his office that often malfunctioned and dispensed its entire contents from one coin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
But it wasn’t until the 19th century, in Britain, that more recognizable coin-operated forms of vending machines started cropping up to sell postcards, paper, and stamps.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2025
Watch it rise in the sky from the Griffith Observatory, which has free public telescopes as well as coin-operated ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2025
“Then why did Halliday leave you his vast collection of classic coin-operated videogames?” a reporter asked.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
