machinery

American  

[muh-shee-nuh-ree] / məˈʃi nə ri /

noun

• machineries
  plural

1. an assemblage of machines or mechanical apparatuses.

   the machinery of a factory.

2. the parts of a machine, collectively.

   the machinery of a watch.

3. a group of people or a system by which action is maintained or by which some result is obtained.

   the machinery of government.

   Synonyms:

   setup, structure, organization

4. a group of contrivances for producing stage effects.

5. the group or aggregate of literary machines, especially those of supernatural agency epic machinery in an epic poem.

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machinery British  

/ məˈʃiːnərɪ /

noun

1. machines, machine parts, or machine systems collectively

2. a particular machine system or set of machines

3. a system similar to a machine

   the machinery of government

4. literary devices used for effect in epic poetry

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antimachinery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• machineries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of machinery

First recorded in 1680–90; machine + -ery

Explanation

Machinery refers to specific machines or machines in general. A farmer has lots of farm machinery, like tractors and plows. Machinery is also the inner workings of something — the machinery of a society is how a society works. You can refer to a group of machines as machinery, such as the machinery in a factory or the machinery in a laboratory. It’s also the inner workings of a particular machine, like the machinery that keeps your computer running. Machinery has to do with how something works or functions. The government, media, business, and family are all part of the machinery of society. The word machinery originally referred to the devices used for creating stage effects in the theater.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

machinery machineries

The stronger cells also contained more of the molecular machinery needed to kill targets.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

Yet tucked behind a cafe where baristas make $11 lattes, young workers write code, design machinery and operate an industrial laser that can cut through a car door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Diesel is the fuel of choice for heavy-duty vehicles and machinery, and its price affects every corner of the economy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

While some protesters were seen pushing and shoving with police, the footage showed no direct attack on officers or attempt to set construction machinery on fire as alleged, the judge said.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Dad was trying to get all the machinery in working order before harvest.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

For pathogens that escape this process, it is commonly thought that those pathogens must release a "secret arsenal" to "paralyze" the degradative machineries in the cell.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2023

"Despite the seasonal factor of summer vacations, the trade balance remained in surplus on robust exports of major products, such as automobiles and machineries, and an improvement in semiconductor exports," Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 1, 2023

Export growth of machineries and hi-tech products were strong.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2021

Something is broken in our system if the machineries of war endure all strategies and policy changes, if only for the sake of enduring.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2018

It is all clangings and bangings as tiles are spat out by big machineries onto what is called a conveyor belt.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Related Words

• apparatus
• appliance
• engine
• equipment
• gear
• instrument
• motor
• system
• tool
• utensil
• vehicle