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

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 deal will alleviate fears, including in the country's famed watch industry and machine tool sector, of any lasting impact of the devastating tariff hike.

From Barron's • Nov. 17, 2025

In the shadow of Hitler's 1938 annexation of Austria, Kundanlal, a machine tool manufacturer from Ludhiana city in the northern state of Punjab, quietly offered Jewish professionals jobs in India to get them life-saving visas.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

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

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