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machinist

American  
[muh-shee-nist] / məˈʃi nɪst /

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 British  
/ məˈʃiːnɪst /

noun

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

  2. a maker or repairer of machines

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of machinist

First recorded in 1700–10; machine + -ist

Vocabulary lists containing machinist

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ist

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Joe Kostka, 71, a retired machinist who paints the trail markers, lined up with his 42-year-old son Tim, who flew in from North Carolina.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2025

His father, Murry, was a musician and a machinist; his mother, Audree, a homemaker.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2025

Mr Olander, a machinist who has worked at Boeing for 11 years, said he is striking because of Boeing’s refusal “to increase our wages along with the economy around us”.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024

The last Boeing machinist strike in 2008 lasted eight weeks, securing wage gains and a promise to outsource less plane manufacturing.

From Salon • Sep. 13, 2024

Shortly after marrying, he began working as an apprentice machinist in a small factory that produced handblown glass bottles of all sizes.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.