machinelike

American  

[muh-sheen-lahyk] / məˈʃinˌlaɪk /

adjective

1. like a machine, as in regular movement or uniform pattern of operation.

   to conduct business with machinelike efficiency.

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Etymology

Origin of machinelike

First recorded in 1690–1700; machine + -like

Example Sentences

That Norwegian, a 25-year-old Viking look-alike named Erling Haaland, is currently on a historic tear through English soccer—even by his own machinelike standards.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

At this nature-oriented museum, Serra’s sculptures are machinelike hulks in the garden.

From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2022

He would help symbolize the almost machinelike efficiency of the Yankees in the mid-20th century, when only twice between Ford’s rookie year and 1964 did they fail to make the postseason.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2020

Astaire disliked the fragmentation of Berkeley’s numbers, which could turn bodies into machinelike parts, insisting that “either the camera will dance or I will.”

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2016

She made a strange whirring sound and watched wide-eyed as her arm shot out, machinelike, toward Jennifer’s.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray