machine tool

American  

noun

1. a power-operated machine, as a lathe, used for general cutting and shaping of metal and other substances.

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machine tool British  

noun

1. a power-driven machine, such as a lathe, miller, or grinder, that is used for cutting, shaping, and finishing metals or other materials

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Other Word Forms

• machine-tooled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of machine tool

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

machine tool

"Regional pockets and certain sectors have been hit harder," such as tourism and machine tool manufacturing, he said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

Manufacturers report persistent shortages of machine tool operators and technicians who can repair complex new equipment, skills that take time and training to learn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

The staff grew to seventeen, including what the writer Robert Marks later described as “Polish sheet metal experts, Italian machine tool men, Scandinavian woodcraftsmen, and former Rolls-Royce coach makers.”

From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2022

American businessman Gene Haas expanded into F1 in 2016 as the means to grow his machine tool building company internationally.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2021

The shops for handwork are large and well arranged, and include a vise-shop, forge shop, machine, tool, and lathe shops, foundry, rooms for pattern making, weaving, and other industrial institutions.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 446, July 19, 1884 by Various