machinist

[muh-shee-nist]

noun

1. a person who operates machinery, especially a skilled operator of machine tools.

2. a person who makes or repairs machines.

3. U.S. Navy.,  a warrant officer whose duty is to assist the engineering officer in the engine room.

machinist

/ məˈʃiːnɪst /

noun

1. a person who operates machines to cut or process materials

2. a maker or repairer of machines

Word History and Origins

Origin of machinist¹

First recorded in 1700–10; machine + -ist

Example Sentences

As America moved to mechanized textile mills, telegraphs and urbanization, that created demand for factory workers, machinists and communications clerks.

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Boeing’s BA -0.54%decrease; red down pointing triangle unionized machinists ratified a new collective bargaining agreement Thursday, ending a nearly 15-week strike that took a toll on workers responsible for producing jet fighters.

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The story begins in Boston, at the close of the Civil War, when machinist Ira Steward penned a pamphlet called “The Eight Hour Movement.”

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The St. Louis machinists walked off the job in early August after narrowly rejecting an earlier four-year contract proposal.

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China has become the de facto manufacturer of the world’s goods, owing not only to its enormous population of engineers, technicians and machinists but also its 2-million-plus army of industrial robots.

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Related Words

• operator 
• worker